First Active has paid £2.7 million (€3.4 million) to the Revenue Commissioners in unpaid DIRT, plus interest and penalties. The former building society is the seventh financial institution to reach a settlement following DIRT audits on foot of the Dail Committee of Public Accounts Inquiry into the abuse of non-resident accounts in the 1980s and 1990s. The amount collected is now £159 million.

The Revenue established that First Active had DIRT arrears of £1.2 million and applied interest and penalties of £1.5 million on that sum.

In a statement yesterday, First Active said the settlement brought the matter to a close. It added that a comprehensive review of the bank's procedures had been undertaken.

Labour Party spokesman on enterprise, trade and employment, Mr Pat Rabbitte, who is a member of the PAC, yesterday called on the Taoiseach to ringfence the money recouped through the DIRT inquiry for the benefit of those who suffered most from such tax evasion.

Earlier this week, AIB made the biggest tax settlement in the history of the State paying £90 million to the Revenue Commissioners in unpaid DIRT, interest and penalties. Bank of Ireland, ACCBank, Ulster Bank and Irish Life & Permanent have also settled, with payments covering all group subsidiaries which were among the 37 institutions independently audited by the Revenue. When these are taken into account 23 institutions have yet to settle up. These include National Irish Bank, which is expected to settle before the next meeting of the PAC in November.