PAC gets fresh whistleblower claims over Ansbacher accounts

The Dáil Public Accounts Committee has received fresh allegations from whistleblower Gerry Ryan about the Ansbacher accounts used by prominent figures to evade tax in the 1990s.

Mr Ryan, an official at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, has written to the committee in relation to Revenue’s investigation of Ansbacher account holders.

It is understood he has made a number of new allegations, but members have not been circulated with the correspondence.

The clerk of the committee wrote to TDs on Wednesday informing them of the letter.

The note read: “As the correspondence relates to the tax affairs of a number of named individuals, I referred it for legal advice because of a concern relating to privilege attaching to such a document if it was circulated.

Legal advice

“The legal advice I have now received is that because of a number of risks associated with receipt of such a document containing names, and as the investigation of the tax affairs of any individual is not within the remit of the committee, that I should notify members of the receipt of the document, that given the risks to the committee that it should not be made available to members prior to consideration of the legal issues associated with the correspondence, that accordingly it will be available for inspection by members when legal advice is given to the committee.”

The parliamentary legal team is to meet TDs on Thursday to discuss the contents of the letter and to distribute it to members.

Mr Ryan is a senior official at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.

He has written to the committee previously alleging a number of politicians used offshore accounts to evade tax.

Revenue officials appeared before the committee and rejected the allegations.

The then-chairwoman Josephine Feehily said all of Mr Ryan’s claims had been investigated thoroughly.