Legal and financial advisors to Mr Michael Lowry were not informed of the controversial £147,000 loan he received from Mr David Austin in 1996, the former Minister for Communications told the Moriarty Tribunal today.
Mr Lowry said the hand-written contract drafted by former Fine Gael fundraiser, the late Mr David Austin, was kept in a personal file away from all his other financial documents. Counsel for the tribunal Mr Jerry Healy SC suggested this was indicative of the intent to keep secret the Irish Nationwide account in the Isle of Man to which the loan was lodged.
Mr Lowry rejected Mr Healy's suggestion saying the loan was "an agreement between friends".
The account was set up with a loan of £147,000 by Mr Austin to refurbish a house in Blackrock, Co Dublin, Mr Lowry had bought.
Mr Lowry said he had told Mr Denis O'Connor of the accountancy firm Brophy, Butler, Thornton that he (Mr O'Connor) would be required to organise paying fees and staff, relating to the refurbishment of the house at 43 Carysfort Avenue, Blackrock.
Mr Lowry said that Mr O'Connor had never been informed of the off-shore account in which the £147,000 had been lodged because it had been sold and the loan repaid.
On February 5th 1998, three and half months after receiving the loan Mr Lowry signed a withdrawal request for £147,000 plus over £1,800 interest and subsequently returned it to Mr Austin.
Mr Lowry said the sale of the house was nothing to do with the setting up of the McCracken Tribunal at the time. He said the existence of the account had not been revealed until April of this year because he did not think it relevant to any of the inquiries in which he was involved.
He said the change in his circumstances and requirements at the end of 1996, when he resigned his position as Minister for Transport Energy and Communications, had led to the sale of the house.
The tribunal adjourned briefly this afternoon after counsel for Mr Lowry, Mr Mr Domhnaill O'Donnell SC, argued that two Dáil statements made by Mr Lowry in late 1996 and early 1997 should not be admitted as evidence under the separation of powers enshrined in the Constitution.
After a brief consultation with his lawyer, Mr Lowry said he would waive any right he had and would answer Mr Healy’s questions.
Mr Lowry was then asked about a statement he made to the Dáil concerning the funding of an extension to his house by Mr Ben Dunne.
In the statement Mr Lowry said: "If someone was trying to hide money would he or she not be more likely to put it in an offshore account." The former Minister said he had since gone on record saying he regretted the form of words used.
But Mr Healy put it to Mr Lowry that the statement showed that off-shore accounts could be used for hiding money. "Yes an off-shore account could be used for that purpose," Mr Lowry replied, but he said that it was not the case in this instance.
He also said he could not account for the circuitous route Mr Austin had used to make the £147,000 payment from his Channel Islands’ account via a Bank of Ireland draft to Mr Karl Tully in the Isle of Man.
Mr Lowry said he was not concerned that representatives of the Isle of Man branch of Irish Nationwide would not give evidence to the tribunal. "My understanding is the chairman has offered to attend the tribunal... I would encourage then to come if it would be helpful to the tribunal," he said.