The State's unstable economic background in the 1980s and early 1990s precluded the test-running of a "high-risk policy" in relation to genuine non-residents, the secretary-general at the Department of Finance told the inquiry.
"It is important to bear in mind the acute turbulence in the financial markets in 1992-93 and the fact that the live register over the years 1992-96 stood at its highest level since 1980," said Mr Paddy Mullarkey.
"Up to end-1992, the concerns about the Irish economy were sufficient to persuade the EU to continue our exchange control derogation which allowed us to maintain exchange controls which should otherwise have been liberalised under EU law."
Concern about capital flight "in the case of genuine non-resident deposits" was closely related to possible reaction to any changes in the law which could give the Revenue access to these accounts.
The evidence given by the former ministers for finance had demonstrated that government over the period under review was focused on trying to maintain stability in the currency and avoid capital outflows.
Neither ministers nor the Department of Finance had given any directions to Revenue in relation to the inspectability of non-resident declarations. Nor had they provided any comfort to the financial institutions that the power of inspectability would not be used.
The governor of the Central Bank, Mr Maurice O'Connell, in his closing statement also focused on issues of relevance to the inquiry, including:
Did liability for DIRT have implications for the solvency of the Irish banking system?
Were there matters of good governance, good conduct and compliance that required attention?
He said DIRT tax liability never posed a threat to the financial institutions supervised by the Central Bank.
The Central Bank, he said, was concerned that the State should have the highest possible standards of compliance.