Haughey sold 17.5 acres at Abbeville to help repay AIB debts of £300,000

Mr Charles Haughey sold 17

Mr Charles Haughey sold 17.5 acres at his Abbeville home in Co Dublin to Roadstone for £140,000 to help him repay debts of almost £300,000 which he had accumulated with Allied Irish Banks (AIB).

A loan of £150,000 was obtained from the Northern Bank Finance Corporation to repay the remainder of Mr Haughey's debt with the bank in December 1973, the tribunal heard.

At this time, Mr Haughey's personal account was overdrawn by £286,097 and his Rath Stud account had a debit of £9,039.

The board of AIB agreed to allow £140,000 to remain outstanding on Mr Haughey's special account, subject to the reduction by instalments and clearance of the debt by the end of December 1974.

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Counsel for the tribunal, Mr John Coughlan SC, yesterday read from documents which outlined the history of Mr Haughey's AIB accounts.

A bank document dated September 1971 showed Mr Haughey's personal account was overdrawn by £244,000 and his Rath Stud account was overdrawn by £11,000. As security, the bank held 154 acres at Ashbourne, Co Meath, and Tara & Whim Creek shares valued at £23,000.

Mr Haughey stated that for the reduction of the accounts he would sell cattle valued at £20,000, stock exchange securities of £23,000, interest in Simmonstown Stud (£48,000) and "other odds and ends" (£10,000). This totalled £101,000.

He would also pursue the sale by private treaty of 154 acres at Ashbourne.

In December 1971, when Mr Haughey's personal account was overdrawn by £225,000, the bank was told Mr Haughey was negotiating the sale to Roadstone of 40 to 50 acres at Abbeville, north Co Dublin. He was also privately attempting to sell 154 acres at Ashbourne for £100,000.

However, bank documents showed the bank "expressed extreme dissatisfaction" with this proposal.

In March 1972, his personal account debit had increased to £247,000 and the advances committee fixed a limit of £250,000 on this account, subject to a reduction by £125,000 within three months and clearance within six.

A lodgement of £100,000 borrowed from the Northern Bank Finance Corporation against the Ashbourne land reduced his debt to £153,000 in June 1972. However, by November 1972, Mr Haughey's personal debt had risen to £183,000 and he gave his "firm undertaking" to clear his debt in full by the end of February 1973.

He proposed to do this through the sale of the Ashbourne lands for which he had received an offer of £200,000 from Readymix and the sale of 30 acres of Abbeville land for which he had been offered £100,000 by Cement Roadstone.

In April 1973, Mr Haughey's personal account was overdrawn by £221,747 and his Rath Stud account was overdrawn by £9,540. Security included a guarantee of £200,000 from Abbeville Ltd, supported by debenture and general charge on 270 acres.

By December 1973, Mr Haughey's personal account was overdrawn by £286,097 and the Rath Stud account was overdrawn by £9,039. Mr Haughey sold 17.5 acres at Abbeville to Roadstone for £140,000 and arranged borrowing of £150,000 from Northern Bank Finance.

The AIB board agreed to allow £140,000 to remain outstanding on his special account, subject to a reduction by instalments and a clearance of his debts by the end of December 1974. However, it refused to sanction an application for debts totalling £30,000 on his personal and Rath Stud accounts.