Certificates as Dunnes wanted, court told

A quantity surveyor who worked on the homes of Mr Michael Lowry and Mr Ben Dunne has said he never saw architects' certificates which referred to the wrong location other than on those two jobs.

Mr Eugene Beglan told Naas District Court he worked for a limited number of clients and has been working for Dunnes Stores since 1992. He said the group never signed contracts for building jobs.

Asked who employed him to work on Mr Lowry's home in Co Tipperary, and Mr Dunne's home in Dublin, Mr Beglan said: "That's a difficult one."

He told Mr David Conlan Smyth, for the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, that he understood Mr Dunne asked architect Mr Peter Stevens to engage his services. Dunnes Stores paid his fees. Mr Beglan was giving evidence on the seventh day of a case where Kildare building firm Faxhill Homes, and its directors Mr John Tierney and Ms Jennifer Tierney, face 26 charges under company law. They have pleaded guilty to a further three such charges. He said that, when work was beginning on Mr Dunne's home in Castleknock, Co Dublin, a fee based on drawings and a bill of quantities was set at £493,133.48 (#626,598). The final cost was about £946,000, the difference due to agreed additions.

Mr Beglan said that when he got his first copy of an architect's certificate from Mr Stevens, it located the work as being on new plant for Dunnes Stores in Newbridge, Co Kildare. When he queried Mr Stevens about this, he was told this was how Dunnes Stores wanted it done. Mr Beglan said when he began work on Mr Lowry's Tipperary home in October 1992, he had a similar experience. Again Mr Stevens said this was how Dunnes wanted it done.

The case, before Judge Tom Fitzpatrick, was adjourned until February 19th.