Burke faces up to five years in jail or fine of €127,000

The former Fianna Fáil minister Ray Burke is facing up to five years in jail and/or a maximum €127,000 fine after pleading guilty to tax offences.

Burke, a former minister for justice and foreign affairs, made the guilty plea during a short hearing at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday on two counts relating to the lodgement of false tax returns.

Separately it emerged yesterday that the former minister has made a €600,000 settlement with the Criminal Assets Bureau which was investigating his finances.

In court yesterday Burke (60), from Griffith Downs, Drumcondra, admitted knowingly or wilfully furnishing incorrect information during the Government's tax amnesty of 1993 by failing to declare income of £151,980.

He also pleaded guilty to knowingly or wilfully furnishing incorrect information to the Inspector of Taxes on or after December 15th, 2003 by failing to declare income of £24,038.

The charges for these offences are provided for in the 1983 Finance Act and Section 9 of the 1993 Waiver of Certain Tax, Interest and Penalties Act.

However, separate charges under the 1993 tax amnesty legislation which carried more serious financial penalties and a jail term of up to eight years, were dropped.

Burke's appearance lasted five minutes in a packed Court 8 and he spoke only to admit the charges as they were put to him by the registrar.

Judge Desmond Hogan remanded him on continuing bail for sentence on December 14th.

With the case scheduled for mention only yesterday, his guilty plea came as a surprise.

At the start of the court proceedings, his lawyers asked for the former minister's case to be moved up the list.

No details were provided about the source of the monies which were not declared, although it is understood that one return was filed by Burke himself and another by accountants acting on his behalf.

Burke indicated at an earlier District Court hearing in his case that he would be seeking legal aid, but this application was not pursued subsequently.

Last November, Mr Burke was served by the Criminal Assets Bureau with a tax demand of over €2 million in respect of income it claims he received but did not declare to the Revenue Commissioners.

CAB has been investigating the former minister since September 2002, shortly after the interim report of the Flood tribunal found he received total corrupt payments of almost €250,000.

The acquisition of his former home in Swords was also found to be corrupt.

The year-long investigation by the bureau identified between €300,000 and €400,000 in income from 1973 to the early 1990s on which it believes Mr Burke did not pay income tax.

The rest of the €2 million-plus sum which was being demanded from him is made up of penalties and interest in respect of the core amount.

Mr Burke is one of a number of figures who has featured in the planning and payments to politicians tribunals to be pursued by CAB on criminal matters through the courts.

He last appeared before the tribunal in April, where he denied meeting developer Mr Tom Gilmartin along with other Cabinet ministers in Leinster House in 1989, as Mr Gilmartin has claimed.

At different times in his political career, Mr Burke held a number of senior ministerial portfolios, including environment, energy, communications, commerce and industry, justice, and foreign affairs. His last Cabinet position was in foreign affairs, to which he was appointed in 1997 by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern. He was not a member of the cabinet at the time the tax amnesty was introduced in 1993, having been sacked by the then taoiseach, Mr Albert Reynolds, the year before.