The developer, Mr Michael Bailey, yesterday apologised several times at the Flood tribunal for keeping the accounts of Bovale Developments Ltd in "a wrong fashion" and said he was now trying to regulate them with the Revenue Commissioners.
Mr Bailey had been questioned about the accounts from the 1980s onwards of his company, which he owned equally with his brother, Thomas. He said they had been naive and the accounting methods had just evolved.
"I know they [the books] were kept in a wrong fashion and I've no hesitation in admitting they had been kept in a wrong fashion and we're endeavouring to regulate them in full with the Revenue Commissioners to ensure that any monies that are outstanding will be paid in full," Mr Bailey said.
He was not proud to admit it. He and his brother, Thomas, were responsible for the bookkeeping as directors of the company.
"I don't mind being buried here in the box," he said.
They were totally naive. If they were smarter, like a lot of other people, they would have had foreign bank accounts.
Mr Desmond O'Neill SC, for the tribunal, said it was a scheme sufficient to fool his auditors from 1983 to 2000 as to the legitimacy of his book-keeping.
Mr Bailey said they never devised any scheme. Mr O'Neill had asked him about loans to directors of Bovale which were not recorded.
"What happened here was that you were taking money from the company as directors which was not being returned as salary and was not being returned as directors' loans. The amounts in fact were being described as either payments to the county council, payments for services to the ESB or payments to individuals as payments to nominal creditors who in fact were not creditors."
Mr Bailey replied: "That is correct and I don't feel proud of the situation."
Mr O'Neill said all the company records had been destroyed in a fire in July 1998 and the statements had been prepared from third parties.
"We are endeavouring to put every shilling of expenditure that was spent in those years since 1987 together with three sets of accountants to make sure that any monies that are outstanding on those drawings will be paid in full," said Mr Bailey. Counsel put it to Mr Bailey that as a certain amount of the turnover of the company was hidden, this required some thought, planning and scheming.
Mr Bailey denied the suggestion.