On March 7th, 1997, a month after the Tribunal of Inquiry (Dunnes Payments) was established, Mr Haughey responded to a letter from the tribunal by saying that neither he nor any member of his family had received any payment in cash or kind of the nature referred to in the tribunal's terms of reference, other than a number of small donations to members of his family, which he listed.
He enclosed a letter he had sent to solicitors for Dunnes Stores in late 1994, denying receipt of any money from Mr Dunne.
The tribunal subsequently gathered evidence which showed cheques totalling £1.1 million had been issued by Mr Ben Dunne for the benefit of Mr Haughey. The bulk of the money was lodged in the Ansbacher deposits, accounts controlled by Mr Haughey's long-time financial adviser, the late Mr Des Traynor.
It was also established that funds from these deposits were used to defray Mr Haughey's living expenses.
The tribunal also heard evidence from Mr Dunne that in November 1991, during a visit to the then Taoiseach's home in Abbeville, Kinsealy, Mr Dunne handed three bank drafts for a total of £210,000 sterling to Mr Haughey. Mr Haughey said: "Thank you, big fella." The money was subsequently lodged in the Ansbacher deposits. Much of this evidence was disclosed in June and July in public hearings.
On July 9th, 1997, Mr Haughey made a statement to the tribunal:
"I wish to thank the chairman for yesterday's adjournment.
"As a result of reviewing the excellent work of the tribunal in considering the very helpful documentation recently received from Mr Ben Dunne's solicitor, I now accept that I received £1.3 million from Mr Ben Dunne and that I became aware that he was the donor to the late Mr Traynor in 1993 and furthermore I now accept Mr Dunne's evidence that he handed me £210,000 in Abbeville in November 1991.
"In making this statement I wish to make it clear that until yesterday I had mistakenly instructed my legal team. They have, however, agreed to continue acting for me for the duration of the tribunal.
"I wish to thank them in this regard. I will give evidence to the tribunal when required to do so."
On July 15th, 1997, Mr Haughey gave evidence to the tribunal.
He began by reading out a statement in which he apologised for statements and letters to the tribunal which were "unhelpful".
He continued: "I was concerned as to the effect that publication of these payments would have for me in the public mind and in hindsight I accept that a lot of the problems and embarrassment that I have caused would have been avoided if I had been more forthcoming at each and every relevant period.
"I would like to reiterate that I now accept that I received the £1.3 million from Mr Ben Dunne and that I became aware that he was the donor to the late Mr Des Traynor in late 1993 and furthermore I now accept Mr Ben Dunne's evidence that he must have handed me £210,000 in Abbeville in November 1991."
Mr Haughey said he had no recollection of the meeting.
In his report, published on August 25th, 1997, Mr Justice McCracken said that as a result of its investigations the tribunal "became satisfied beyond all reasonable doubt that all of the monies paid by Mr Ben Dunne were received by or on behalf of Mr Charles Haughey for his benefit or, in one case, for the benefit of a member of his family."