Flynn did not know of non-resident accounts

A former EU commissioner, Mr Pádraig Flynn, has told the tribunal he didn't know the £50,000 he got from developer Mr Tom Gilmartin was lodged in a non-resident account.

Mr Flynn denied any knowledge of three non-resident accounts held in his and his wife Dorothy's name, at their AIB branch in Castlebar, in the late 1980s.

The tribunal heard that Mr Flynn is unable to account for about £80,000 in lodgements to the three accounts between 1986 and 1993, although he believes much of the money came from political contributions.

Mr Gilmartin's contribution in 1989 was the largest amount he received in his political career, he told the tribunal. It was equivalent to his ministerial salary in that year.

Tribunal lawyers also revealed that Mr Flynn received political contributions of £8,000 from National Toll Roads in 1993 and £3,000 from Davy Stockbrokers in 1992.

Asked what he did with Mr Gilmartin's cheque, he said: "I took it away with me."

Mr Flynn said he understood his wife lodged the cheque along with other monies.

He agreed that the cheque was the biggest political donation he had received in his career and that it was a "significant sum".

Ms Patricia Dillon SC, for the tribunal, pointed out that his Dáil salary at the time was £51,873, so it was equivalent to a year's pay.

Mr Flynn said he didn't know "at the time" that the money was lodged in a non-resident account.

He didn't know of the existence of this account and he hadn't asked his wife to make a lodgement to this particular account or any other one. When he became aware of the account in the early 1990s, he asked his wife to have it closed.

Ms Dillon pointed out that the statutory declaration of non-residence form was signed by both the Flynns, with an address in Chiswick, London.

Mr Flynn said he could not recall the circumstances in which this form came to be signed. He hadn't opened the account and therefore couldn't assist the tribunal.

Responding to questions from Judge Alan Mahon, he said he was very busy during this period and didn't pay a lot of attention to his accounts. Judge Mahon asked whether Mr Flynn hadn't wondered what had happened to the £50,000. The amount was equal to his annual income yet it never struck Mr Flynn to ask his wife what she had done with it.

Mr Flynn said he didn't discuss it with his wife. He didn't see any reason why he would have done this.

Ms Dillon then produced a note from Mr Flynn's accountant which, she said, showed that the former politician had indicated that the address in Chiswick was his wife's address in London. However, Mr Flynn denied providing this information to his accountants.

Ms Dillon said the witness had kept no records of the contributions he had received, he did not know the amounts involved or the dates, and he was unable to say whether the money he got was cash or cheques.

Ms Dillon said the lodgements to the Flynns' three non-resident accounts totalled £155,278. Of this, Mr Flynn had been able to identify Mr Gilmartin's £50,000, £8,000 from NTR, £16,000 spent on sites and £1,000 wedding expenditure.

Mr Flynn and his lawyers disputed Ms Dillon's use of the term "bogus non-resident account" to describe the Flynns' accounts. He said the account to which the Gilmartin money was lodged was an "external UK account" and was not designated as a non-resident account.

However, Judge Mahon said he was satisfied the term "non-resident" was correct.