AFTER TWO days of giving evidence to the Dunnes Payments Tribunal, Mr Michael Lowry appears to be cleared of any suggestions that the money he received from Dunnes Stores was in exchange for political favours.
Mr Lowry gave a robust defence of his political integrity during his evidence yesterday, hotly contesting any suggestion that he was compromised politically because of his financial relationship with Dunnes Stores.
There had been "inference and innuendo and accusations" that he was involved in "political corruption and bribery", he said, and he rejected this. All payments he got from Dunnes Stores were for the refrigeration services he provided.
At one stab the tribunal chairman, Mr Justice McCracken, agreed with Mr Lowry that the issue was whether he had received money through Mr Ben Dunne for political favours. "To be quite clear, that issue is not really being pursued here because there's no evidence," the judge said.
Mr Lowry denied that he misled the Dail in his statement last December outlining details of his relationship with Dunnes Stores. He said he regretted including a sentence in that statement which said: "If someone was trying to bide income, would they not be more likely to put it in, say, an off-shore account?"
He agreed that he had had money in off-shore accounts, but denied that he was trying to suggest otherwise to the Dail. His statement had been prepared with the help of advisers and some "weasel words" had inadvertently been included. He suggested that the trauma he went through as a result of his resignation as a Minister may have contributed to this.
The tribunal's focus next week will switch to the former Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey.
On Monday the tribunal will hear legal arguments as to whether it will direct Mr Noel Smyth, Mr Ben Dunne's solicitor, to reveal details of conversations he had with Mr Haughey concerning the payment of more than 1 million to him by Mr Dunne.
Next week the tribunal is also expected to hear detailed evidence from bankers in relation to the money paid into and out of the so called "Ansbacber deposits" for the benefit of Mr Haughey.