About £1 million in unpaid Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) payments remain outstanding from Bank of Ireland account-holders who were resident but held their deposits in non-resident accounts.
The Comptroller and Auditor General, Mr Sean Purcell, states that a residual figure of £1 million remains unpaid, or 0.17 per cent of the bank's cumulative DIRT payments since 1986 of £590 million. Last year the bank had an estimated 18.65 per cent of the non-resident market. Significant cases of non-payment of DIRT were identified by the bank after being alerted by the Revenue Commissioners.
The Commissioners advised the bank in 1991 that they had become aware of resident taxpayers who were operating accounts with non-resident status in the west Clare town of Miltown Malbay. "It was alleged that these accounts had been operated with the knowledge and assistance of the branch manager," Mr Purcell states.
The bank concluded the allegations were correct following its own investigation. "The amount of unpaid DIRT was confirmed at £200,572 in January 1992 and paid over to Revenue." As a result, the bank is facing an ongoing legal action by clients claiming that confidentiality was breached. Overall, the bank's branch audits concluded that the aggregate of DIRT figures for both bogus and genuine non-resident accounts comes to £1.3 million. With indications that £300,000 was paid, a residual figure of £1 million remains.
Mr Purcell was told that in the case of Claremorris, Co Mayo, arrears were not paid but the manager was let go as a result of the branch being rated "seriously deficient' in its control procedures.
In reports to the chief executive's office in the early 1990s it was stated that an assistant manager in Tullamore was personally involved in the operation of fictitious accounts and that there were "serious irregularities" in a small number of sizeable customer deposits in Killester, Dublin.