An accountant who acted for Michael Lowry at the Moriarty tribunal has claimed it was Mr Lowry's position that fees for consultancy work carried out by the accountant were for others to pay.

In legal documents prepared for a dispute which was resolved on consent last week, the two men argued over consultancy work carried out by Denis O’Connor of BBT Chartered Accountants, Foxrock, Co Dublin, which was commissioned in April 2001. Mr O’Connor says that Mr Lowry’s position had been that responsibility for these consultancy fees “fell to other parties”.

Mr Lowry would not comment yesterday when asked what the consultancy work was about, or about Mr O’Connor’s claim in relation to unnamed “other parties”. Mr O’Connor could not be contacted.

Tribunal
The Independent TD for North Tipperary has said the accountant is seeking €1.7million in fees. Most of the fees concern Mr O'Connor's work for Mr Lowry at the tribunal, with the rest arising from the consultancy work. Mr Lowry says he had an oral agreement with Mr O'Connor that these fees would be paid out of the costs he, Mr Lowry, secured from the tribunal. Mr O'Connor's position is that the fees are due from Mr Lowry since the tribunal finished its work.

Last year, the tribunal told Mr Lowry it will only pay one-third of his total fees – including legal and accountancy fees – understood to be about €8 million. The politician is appealing the decision to the High Court.

A dispute over a partial €650,000 costs judgment granted late last year for BBT accountants against Mr Lowry, by Master of the High Court Edmund Honohan, was vacated or cancelled last week by the deputy master on consent from both sides. The dispute over the entire sum is to be the subject of a full court hearing, probably next year. The case put by Mr Lowry in his appeal against the Master's order has not been previously reported.

'Consultancy work'
Mr Lowry said that while he had an oral arrangement with Mr O'Connor concerning work at the tribunal from 1998 to 2010, he had a separate arrangement with Mr O'Connor when the accountant was retained in relation to "consultancy work" in April 2001. The affidavits do not disclose what this consultancy work, which is elsewhere described as a "special assignment", was about. The BBT claim for fees arising from the work done by Mr O'Connor includes what it says are outstanding amounts due for this work.