Bank executives to be interviewed in DIRT inquiry

The chief executive officers of all the major banks and building societies are to be interviewed under oath as part of the Comptroller & Auditor General's inquiry into Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) and bogus non-resident accounts.

Other senior executives as well as senior civil servants from the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Finance and the Central Bank are also likely to be questioned under oath as part of Mr John Purcell's inquiry. The interviews are expected to take place in his Dublin Castle offices. There are 37 financial institutions currently registered for the collection of DIRT.

In a statement yesterday Mr Purcell said an analysis of material supplied by financial institutions and central government had been completed and would be used as background information for the remaining stages of his examination.

This will involve audits of bank and building society records and the taking of evidence on oath.

Ms Aileen Barry, a British partner with Arthur Andersen, has been appointed by the Comptroller & Auditor General to examine accounts and deposits held by financial institutions. Last week it was announced that the Dail had approved £1 million (#1.27 million) to pay for Mr Purcell's inquiry and that most of this would cover the cost of the British auditor.

Ms Barry will be working with a team of up to 12 analysts of various disciplines and will conduct a "sampling" operation at branch and headquarters level where she will examine non-resident accounts to establish whether the depositors are truly non-resident. The names of individual depositors will not be passed on to the Comptroller and Auditor General. Her team will conduct inquiries in 20 of the 37 institutions registered for the collection of DIRT, those being the 20 with the biggest non-resident market shares.

Mr Purcell, who is working with a team of six accountants from his office, expects to report to the Dail by June. The Committee on Public Accounts will then begin a series of public hearings. Six of its members have been appointed to conduct its inquiry and they expect the hearings to take place in July or September.

The six members are: Mr Jim Mitchell (chairman); Mr Bernard Durkan; Mr Pat Rabbitte; Mr Sean Ardagh; Mr Sean Doherty; and Mr Denis Foley. The six TDs are undergoing extensive preparations for their inquiry and are to attend a one-day seminar in the Institute of Public Administration on legal procedures and the laws of evidence.

Mr Purcell's inquiry arises from hearings held last year by the Committee on Public Accounts where differences emerged in evidence from the Revenue and AIB in relation to bogus non-resident accounts and the payment of DIRT.

Following the committee's hearings, the Dail appointed Mr Purcell to carry out his inquiry under the Examinations and Investigations under the Comptroller and Auditor General and Committees of the Houses of the Oireachtas (Special Provisions) Act, 1998.

Mr Purcell was asked to examine the keeping of books by the financial institutions in relation to DIRT and non-resident accounts; the performance of the Revenue in relation to overseeing the financial institutions in relation to DIRT; the performance of the financial institutions in relation to non-resident accounts and DIRT; any shortfall which may have existed in DIRT payments from the financial institutions; and what information was known to the institutions, the Revenue, the Department of Finance, and the Central Bank in relation to bogus non-resident accounts, and the use made of that information.