ORDERS for the discovery of all documents relevant to the Dunnes' tribunal of inquiry were made against the wife and a son of former Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, yesterday.
Ms Maureen Haughey and Mr Ciaran Haughey have already been contacted on the matter by counsel for the tribunal. Others against whom such orders were made include Mr Ben Dunne, the Dunnes companies, Mr Michael Lowry, the Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour, and Democratic Left political parties, the Revenue Commissioners, companies involved in the refurbishment of Mr Lowry's Co Tipperary home, and the Streamline company with which he was associated.
The tribunal sat yesterday to allow the chairman and sole tribunal member, Mr Justice Brian McCracken, to make the orders for discovery.
Counsel for the tribunal, Mr Denis McCullough SC, said the amount of documentation to be made available to the tribunal "may be extensive and voluminous". Mr Garrett Cooney SC described the amount of documents which may have to be provided by his clients, Dunnes Holding Companies and subsidiaries, as "staggering", while Mr Donald McDonald BL, for the Price Waterhouse accountancy firm, said his clients may be providing "40,000 pages of documents".
Mr McDonald expressed concern that his clients may not be able to determine the relevance to the tribunal of documents concerning "indirect payments". There were problems also of time and cost, as senior people in the company would have to be involved in such matters. Mr Justice McCracken indicated that the State would cover costs, though this was a matter he had yet to discuss with counsel for the public interest, he said.
A general order for discovery was made by Mr Justice McCracken against Mr Ben Dunne, requiring the production to the tribunal, on oath, of "all documents within his power, possession or procurement, including, but not limited to, all books, records, books of account, statements of account, cheques, original and copy, correspondence, notes, memoranda and all other documents relating to all payments in cash or in kind directly or indirectly whether authorised or unauthorised within or without the State which were made to or received by persons who were, between the 1st January, 1986 and 31st December, 1996 members of the Houses of the Oireachtas, their relatives or connected persons as defined in the Ethics in Public Office Act, 1995, and political parties from Dunnes Holding Company and/or any associated enterprises as defined in the schedule to the terms of reference to this tribunal and/or Mr Ben Dunne or any person on his behalf or any companies, trusts or other entities controlled directly or indirectly by Mr Ben Dunne between 1st January, 1986 and 31st December, 1996 and, in addition to the aforesaid documents, all pleadings and affidavits in proceedings brought in the High Court between Mr Ben Dunne, Mrs Margaret Heffernan, Mr Frank Dunne, other members, of the Dunne family, the Dunne companies and the (four) of the Dunne settlement trust or many of them."
Similarly detailed orders were made against Mr Lowry, Garuda Ltd trading as Streamline, Faxhill Homes (which refurbished Mr Lowry's home), Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, Labour, and the Democratic Left parties, Ms Maureen Haughey, Mr Ciaran Haughey, Peter Stevens and Associates (the architects responsible for designing the refurbishment of Mr Lowry's house), and the Revenue Commissioners (concerning documents relevant to Mr Lowry's tax affairs, as well as those of Faxhill Homes, Streamline Enterprises, and Peter Stevens and Associates).
Mr Justice McCracken said that a more limited order may be appropriate where documents from the Dunnes Holding Companies and subsidiaries are concerned. This, would be established following discussion by counsel for the tribunal with counsel for Dunnes, he said, but added that if no order can be agreed he was "prepared to sit again within a week" to make an order on the matter.
