Haughey says Dunne sorted £185,000 investment loan

The businessman Ben Dunne arranged a loan of £185,000 for Ciarán Haughey and his business partner to invest in a land deal near Dublin airport in 1991, the Mahon tribunal has heard.

Giving evidence yesterday, Mr Haughey said that his business partner, John Barnicle, had approached Mr Dunne about a loan to allow them to buy into a consortium known as Cargobridge.The consortium was seeking to buy 24 acres which adjoined property owned by their company Celtic Helicopters.

However, the tribunal has learned that Mr Dunne actually provided security for a loan which was advanced by Bank of Ireland Private Banking.

Mr Haughey and Mr Barnicle said that when their share of the Cargobridge lands was sold in 1994 they received £10,000 each. Both were unaware of what had happened the balance of the net profits worth around £180,000.

Mr Haughey said his involvement in the land deal had been concealed through the use of a shelf company known as Abervanta Ltd. "When we came on board there was going to be a rezoning issue and at that time, it needed 70 per cent of the council to vote for the rezoning. "That would require cross-party support and at that time Nora Owen was head of Fine Gael and should the Haughey name or that of Celtic Helicopters have emerged, then there is no way she would have voted for it."

He accepted a contention from tribunal counsel Patricia Dillon SC that there had been a deliberate attempt to keep his name out of the public eye.

Mr Haughey said they had been approached to join the Cargobridge consortium by businessman Michael McGuinness who, he said, wanted to see if a right of way across State land, which Celtic Helicopters had earlier acquired, could be transferred to Cargobridge.

Mr Haughey said that at all stages he and Mr Barnicle were the beneficial owners of Abervanta Ltd. Mr Barnicle had approached Mr Dunne in a private capacity and he had agreed to lend the money. Mr Dunne had directed them to contact his solicitor Noel Smyth. He accepted that Abervanta Ltd was a shelf company belonging to Mr Smyth.

Mr Haughey said he did not know how Mr Smyth had dealt with the issue of the loan and that "as far as we were concerned it was Ben Dunne's money we were getting". He agreed with the evidence that by February 1994, the bank had sought the repayment of about £215,000 and that this had prompted them to sell their portion of the Cargobridge lands.

He could not recall whether they had gone to an auctioneer to sell the site and could not remember the circumstances in which a purchaser was found.

Ms Dillon: "Who negotiated the price?"

Mr Haughey: "I don't know."

Ms Dillon: "Did you?"

Mr Haughey: "I have no recollection."

Ms Dillon: "Did Mr Barnicle?"

Mr Haughey: "You'd have to ask him."

Ms Dillon: "Did you get a professional valuation?"

Mr Haughey: "Um, I'm not sure."

"Are you seriously telling the tribunal that you had 3½ acres of reasonably valuable land in north Dublin that you decided to sell in order to pay back Mr Dunne?" Ms Dillon asked. "You don't know how you decided to sell it, you don't know how it came to be sold and you don't know how the purchaser came to be found."

Mr Haughey said that Celtic Helicopters was facing difficulties and they just wanted to wash their hands of the lands.

He said that the land had been sold for £415,000 and that Mr Smyth had handled the details.

Ms Dillon said the evidence was that the bank had received £218,726 in repayments.

Mr Haughey said he did not know what happened to the sale balance of nearly £200,000. "As far as I am concerned it went back to Mr Dunne with interest or whatever."

Mr Barnicle said, when asked where the balance of the profits went: "It would have to show up in Abervanta's accounts."

He could not remember how the sale went through or how the loans were repaid. "I didn't have any part in that," he said.

The planning tribunal is to deliver its judgment tomorrow on the publication by The Irish Times of information from confidential papers detailing payments to the Taoiseach. The hearing, which was originally scheduled for today, will now take place at 2pm tomorrow.