The chairman of the Public Accounts Committee inquiry adjourned proceedings last night on foot of "a significant development" relating to earlier testimony from Ms Mary Walsh, a tax partner in Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Ms Walsh had been asked by the chairman, Mr Jim Mitchell, to review the notes of the meeting she had had with AIB executives on October 30th, 1998, after the PwC partner revealed she had mistakenly recorded that the current chairman of the revenue commissioners, Mr Dermot Quigley, and his immediate predecessor, Mr Cathal Mac Domhnaill, had been involved in the AIB DIRT issue.
When Ms Walsh came to read them back after 10 hours of evidence she again referred to a meeting between "the then chairman of the Revenue Commissioners" and the bank.
The chief inspector of taxes, Mr Christopher Clayton, intervened to say Mr Mac Domhnaill had been present in January 1998 at a meeting between AIB and Bank of Ireland, to do with the Revenue's declared intention to look into the matter of non-resident forms.
Mr Pat Rabbitte referred to a transcript of Mr Mac Domhanill's evidence earlier in the day, in which he said he had held meetings with various financial institutions on "electronification", industrial relations and so on, but there was no mention of tax, he had said.
Mr Mitchell adjourned the meeting and said the matter would have to be closely reviewed today.