The Moriarty Tribunal serves order of discovery on Minister

It was confirmed last night that the Moriarty Tribunal has served an order of discovery on the Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, seeking all documents between 1954 and 1992 on Exchange Controls, and decisions taken in connection with changes in them.

The tribunal says it wants all relevant documents, whether they are held by the Department or the Central Bank.

A spokeswoman for Mr McCreevy, confirming that the order had been served, said they would be co-operating fully with the request from the tribunal.

The order indicates how extensive the Moriarty inquiry is, making it the biggest investigation into the use of off-shore bank accounts in the history of the State.

The McCracken Tribunal also dealt with breaches of exchange control regulations, particularly in relation to the operation of the Ansbacher accounts.

The tribunal was set up to inquire into the finances of the former Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, and former Fine Gael Minister Mr Michael Lowry. It is also required to investigate the workings of offshore accounts in general and the effect they might have on the Irish tax base.

Mr McCreevy told the Dail last week that, as part of this aspect of the tribunal's remit, it would investigate the workings of the Ansbacher deposits but not to the extent of naming the individual account holders.

However, the law in relation to exchange controls and changes made to that law over the past 40 years is public knowledge, and the decision of the tribunal to serve an order of discovery on the Department of Finance indicates that it may wish to establish the thinking behind the development of the law on exchange controls.

It may also wish to establish the role played, if any, by Mr Haughey in the making of the law, as it is now known that he himself had funds which were kept offshore and that his close friend and financial adviser, the late Mr Des Traynor, was intimately involved in setting up and maintaining the Ansbacher deposits.

Mr Traynor was also chairman and, at one stage, a part owner of the bank established on the Caymen Islands by Guinness and Mahon Bank in the early 1970s.

The documents being sought by the tribunal are most likely extensive and will form just part of the documentation the tribunal legal team will have to study before any public hearings.

The order of discovery illustrates the size of the task being undertaken by the tribunal. It may also indicate that any public hearings of evidence by the tribunal are still some months away.