POSSIBLE political influence never arose in relation to his dealings with either Mr Michael Lowry or with Mr Charles Haughey, Mr Dunne told the tribunal. He also said he had no explanation for the "unusual" manner of some of the payments to Mr Lowry.
Mr Lowry was a "grown man" and could look after his own tax affairs, Mr Dunne said, and he had no idea if the complex manner of payment had anything to do with avoiding disclosure to the Revenue Commissioners.
He said it never crossed his mind that Mr Lowry was a TD, and a "rising star" in Fine Gael. Indeed, when he mentioned that he was doing business with him to a friend of his, Mr John Mulholland, now Fine Gael mayor of Galway, Mr Mulholland asked "Who's Michael Lowry?"
He agreed that Mr Lowry's company was totally dependent on Dunnes Stores, and Mr Lowry would have a problem if they fell out. But Dunnes Stores, because of its dependence on refrigeration, would also have a problem if that happened, he said.
"In hindsight I was wrong the way I set up the deal," he said.
"Everything was done at cost price equipment, parts and labour. If I stayed in Dunnes Stores I would have changed it."
He also agreed that there was no reference to bonuses in the letter confirming the contract from Mr Lowry to the Dunnes Stores accountant, Mr Irwin.
"Mr Lowry was taking an awful lot on trust, wasn't he?" Mr McCullough asked.
"Yes, he was," Mr Dunne replied.
Asked about the various payments to Mr Lowry, Mr Dunne said that the sums of £6,000 or £7,000 were for Christmas gifts for his staff. "It was the way I operated," he said.
Mr McCullough pointed out that in May, 1992, two payments were made one, on the 27th, to Streamline for £50,000 and the other, the next day, for £40,000. This was a "much more complicated transaction" and involved Mr Dunne organising payment of £40,000 from an Isle of Man account to a company set up in the Isle of Man by Mr Lowry.
"It must have been to assist Mr Lowry in dealing with the second payment in some way other than through normal books and accounts," Mr McCullough suggested.
"It would be wrong to deny it was an unusual way of doing it," Mr Dunne replied. "I can't recall why." Asked if it was to avoid disclosure to the Revenue Commissioners, he said, "My understanding was that whatever people's dealings with tax were were their own business. Mr Lowry is old enough and mature enough to deal with his own tax problems." He said he could not recall at whose suggestion this arrangement came about. His dealings with Mr Lowry were about business, not about tax.
Asked if it crossed his mind that Mr Lowry might be useful to him in the future he said, "Definitely not."