THE DUNNES payments tribunal may suspend its formal sittings next week after hearing evidence from politicians including Mr Michael Lowry, the Taoiseach and the Tanaiste.
Legal sources at the tribunal speculate that the suspension may take place to allow the tribunal team to concentrate on investigations abroad in connection with off shore payments that Mr Ben Dunne says he made to Mr Charles Haughey and Mr Lowry.
The tribunal will hear evidence today from Mr Spring, the Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn, and a number of bankers from the Isle of Man. General secretaries from political parties may also give evidence today, while legal sources at the tribunal expect Mr Lowry and Mr Bruton to give evidence early next week.
It is understood that Mr Ben Dunne's sister, Mrs Margaret Heffernan, has agreed to appear before the tribunal without a sub poena having to be served. There is still no indication as to whether the former Taoiseach, Mr Haughey, will give evidence. The tribunal is entitled to subpoena him to attend, should he not want to. But legal sources say that no person can be compelled to answer questions where the answers could be self incriminating.
If tribunal sittings are suspended next week, this could almost coincide with the formal start of a general election campaign. A suspension of tribunal sittings would mean that the campaign could get underway without daily evidence at the tribunal affecting its course.
Senior sources in Fianna Fail said last night that Mr Haughey neither acknowledged nor responded to three official letters from the party about the Dunnes payments allegations.
The party's general secretary, Mr Pat Farrell, wrote three letters to Mr Haughey in the past two months in his capacity as a former TD and former office holder seeking information about the allegations. There was no response to any of the letters, the sources said.
Yesterday morning, the former chief accountant of the Dunnes Stores group, Mr Michael Irwin, told the tribunal that he had been opposed to the manner in which Dunnes Stores paid for the refurbishment of Mr Lowry's home at Holycross, Co Tipperary. Mr Irwin agreed with Mr Denis McCullough, for the tribunal that the arrangement made it possible for Mr Lowry not to pay tax on the transaction, should he wish to take that course.
Fine Gael's candidate in the North Tipperary constituency, Mr Tom Berkery, called on Mr Lowry yesterday to withdraw from the election because of discrepancies between his statement to the Dail last December and his submission to the tribunal.
But Mr Lowry said he had no intention of withdrawing and that he was not required in his Dail statement to address anything other that Dunnes Stores refurbishment of his house and the Price Waterhouse report (into payments by Ben Dunne).
Meanwhile, explaining yesterday afternoon's unexpected adjournment of the hearing, Mr Michael Collins SC, for the tribunal, said that a substantial amount of work remained to be done and the tribunal team was at an important phase of its investigations. This work could not be done while the team was dealing with witnesses giving evidence at the inquiry.
Mr Collins said a number of witnesses had been scheduled to appear yesterday afternoon but were not now available for reasons outside the tribunal's control.
The Tanaiste, Mr Spring, is expected to give evidence today on Mr Ben Dunne's statement to the tribunal that Mr Spring had solicited a contribution from him for the promoters of the Waterworld leisure park in Tralee.
The Minister for Finance, Mr Quinn, is also expected to give evidence today on the statement by Mr Dunne that he gave him a £15,000 contribution to Mrs Mary Robinson's presidential election campaign in a Dublin pub.