Some £2 million passed through accounts used to pay farm and household expenses of former Taoiseach Mr Charles Haughey from 1991 to 1996. Lodgements to the account peaked at £434,000 in 1995, when Mr Haughey was leader of the Opposition, and fell to just over £266,000 the following year.
Chartered accountant Mr Jack Stakelum handled Mr Haughey's bills for much of the 1990s through his company, Business Enterprises Ltd.
A former employee of Haughey Boland, Mr Stakelum said he had taken on the bill-paying service for Mr Haughey in 1991 after the facility was moved from Deloitte and Touche because of concerns that the Taoiseach's privacy could be compromised as the company was becoming "a multinational".
Funds for the account were supplied by the manager of Mr Haughey's finances, Des Tray nor, until his death in 1994 and subsequently by Mr Padraig Collery, usually in bank drafts.
In October 1996, Mr Haughey told Mr Stakelum to give financier Mr Dermot Desmond bank details which would enable him to make a payment to the former Taoiseach. He said Mr Desmond would be "making a lodgement for the purpose of defraying bills", according to Mr Stakelum.
The accountant arranged to meet Mr Desmond in his Dublin office. Mr Desmond offered him vouchers for the Druid's Glen golf course and said he was interested in making a "donation" to Mr Haughey and wanted to know where he should make such a lodgement.
Mr Stakelum got details of the accounts from Mr Collery. Afterwards, Mr Desmond lodged £25,000 sterling to an account in the name of Business Enterprise Limited Nominees.
In January 1995, £168,036.81 sterling was transferred from NCB Stockbrokers to the account. Mr Stakelum said he mentioned it to Mr Collery and Mr Haughey but neither "was terribly interested in it, it appeared". Both said it was the proceeds of "an investment account".
The accountant told the tribunal that £400£450 a week would be sent to Kinsealy for household expenses, and occasionally drafts for larger amounts were sent. The sums would frequently be picked up by Mr Haughey's driver.
Mr Stakelum retired in October of last year. His involvement with Mr Haughey ended a few months earlier. He had provided the service free of charge. He said he understood from Mr Collery that there was "a freeze put by the banks on the funds that were still there". He was left "with only £360-something" to close the account. "I am not sure what Mr Collery has in terms of balance on those memorandum accounts, but they were frozen."
