Evidence on the amount of money spent by the former Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, since he was first elected leader of Fianna Fail in 1979 and possibly farther back is to be outlined by the Moriarty tribunal, which begins public hearings today.
It is understood the tribunal will begin with an opening statement in which its legal team will outline the work carried out since it was established in September 1997, and the evidence which has been uncovered.
The first witness will then be called and is likely to be Ms Sandra Kells, finance director with Guinness & Mahon bank.
Evidence from Ms Kells and a number of other witnesses next week will concern out-goings by the former Taoiseach for the years covered by the tribunal's terms of reference.
It is understood that expenditure of approximately £300,000 a year for 1989 to 1991, uncovered by the McCracken tribunal which inquired into payments from Dunnes Stores, was found to have been normal for Mr Haughey.
Sources have said that many of the donors who gave funds to Mr Haughey to finance his lifestyle have been identified and contacted by the tribunal.
The tribunal will not sit tomorrow. Evidence is likely to be heard next week from representatives of Irish Intercontinental Bank which, along with Guinness & Mahon bank, was linked with the Ansbacher deposits, which contained funds used to pay Mr Haughey's bills.
Mr Padraig Collery, who authorised withdrawals from the deposits, and Mr Jack Stakelum, whose company, Business Enterprises Ltd, had handled Mr Haughey's books since 1991, are likely to be called.
So, too, is Deloitte Touche, the accountancy company which merged with Haughey Boland around 1991. Haughey Boland handled Mr Haughey's books up to about the time of the merger.
Details may also be given of payments from the Ansbacher deposits to persons other than Mr Haughey, including other politicians.
The tribunal is inquiring into payments to Mr Haughey and to the former Fine Gael minister, Mr Michael Lowry, and into any decisions they made in office which might have been of benefit to known donors.
It is also inquiring into payments from the Ansbacher deposits to Mr Haughey or to any other politician, and into the performance of the Revenue Commissioners in relation to Mr Haughey and Mr Lowry.
It is not believed that Mr Lowry benefited from the Ansbacher deposits.
A number of parties known to have made payments to Mr Haughey have already been identified in the media.
They include: Mr Ben Dunne who, as revealed by the McCracken tribunal, gave Mr Haughey £1.3 million in the period 1987 to 1991, and possibly £500,000 more which was not dealt with by that tribunal; Mr Dermot Desmond, who has said he made payments to Mr Haughey since 1994 and to Haughey family members and related companies in the years 1987 to 1995; and the late Mr P.V. Doyle, founder of the Doyle hotels group, who maintained overdraft facilities in Guinness & Mahon bank which may have been for the benefit of Mr Haughey.
Other parties which have been identified are Mr Patrick Gallagher, of the Gallagher group, which collapsed in the 1980s, who said in a newspaper interview last year that the group had made a payment of £375,000 to Mr Haughey around the time he was elected to the leadership of Fianna Fail; and Carlisle Trust, a successful property development company owned by Mr John Byrne.
Money from Mr Ben Dunne which may have gone to Mr Haughey was lodged in a Carlisle Trust bank account in Dublin in 1992. Mr Des Traynor, who handled Mr Haughey's personal finances and set up and operated the Ansbacher deposits, was a director of Carlisle Trust. He died in 1994.
The tribunal is known to have requested all the records on the "passports for sale" scheme from the Department of Justice. It has also been given Department of Finance files on exchange control regulations.
Mr Justice Moriarty has said the tribunal, rather than sitting for one long continuous session, will sit to deal with a particular topic, then adjourn and prepare for its next sitting, where evidence will be heard on another aspect of its inquiries.
The tribunal, in Dublin Castle, will sit from Monday to Thursday, and is located in a building in the Upper Castle Yard.