OPW plans leasing from Ansbacher links man

The Office of Public Works (OPW) is finalising a lease of £1.75 million (€2.2 million) on a new headquarters for the Courts Service with Mr John Byrne, the property developer linked to the Ansbacher accounts.

A spokesperson for the OPW confirmed yesterday that the State plans to rent Phoenix House on Phoenix Street in Dublin's Smithfield from Mr Byrne.

The developer's links to Mr Charles Haughey, the former Taoiseach, are currently being investigated by the Moriarty tribunal.

The judicial inquiry has identified payments totalling £320,000 from Mr Byrne's companies into an account with Guinness & Mahon bank in Dublin, which was used to make payments to Mr Haughey in 1987 and 1988. The Kerry-born developer has denied giving any money to Mr Haughey, despite being a friend for more than 40 years. Links between Mr Byrne's business interests and the Ansbacher accounts are also being investigated by three High Court inspectors, led by the former president of the High Court, Mr Justice Declan Costello.

Phoenix House is being built by the Smithfield Property Development Company, which in turn is owned by Carlisle Trust, the holding company for the bulk of Mr Byrne's Irish property interests. The OPW refused to comment on the terms of the lease, which is still being negotiated. However, the spokeswoman said that, as with all business entered into by the State, the company leasing the building would have to produce a tax compliance certificate. Modern office space in Dublin currently attracts rents in the region of £35 per square foot. The OPW is taking 70,000 square feet in Phoenix House but is understood to have negotiated a substantially better rate of around £25 per square foot. The Courts Service, which will use the building, manages the courts and provides courts services for the judges. Companies connected with Mr Byrne availed of loans secured on the Ansbacher deposits, the High Court was told last year when Mr Justice Costello and two other inspectors were appointed.

Carlisle Trust and Alstead Securities accounted for £17.5 million sterling of £25 million in back-to-back loans from Irish Intercontinental Bank that were secured on the Ansbacher deposits. Back-to-back loans allowed depositors to gain access to money held in the Ansbacher accounts without bringing the existence of the deposits to the attention of the Revenue Commissioners.

O'Connell Bridge House, an office block in central Dublin owned by Carlisle Trust, was rented by the State until last January when it declined to renew the 35-year lease. The Revenue Commissioners, who are investigating the Ansbacher accounts, were among the State agencies based in the building, on which £450,000 a year was paid in rent. The OPW continues to rent three other Dublin properties from Mr Byrne:

D'Olier House on D'Olier Street is leased from Dublin City Estates, another Carlisle Trust company, for £375,000 a year.

The Companies Registration Office is located in another of his properties, Parnell House on Parnell Square.

The OPW also leases an office block on Townsend Street from Mr Byrne.