The EBS Building Society has paid £2.8 million to the Revenue Commissioners to settle its liabilities for Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT), penalties and interest arising out of bogus non-resident deposit accounts over the 1986 to 1999 period. The mutual building society, which is owned by its 400,000 members, paid DIRT arrears of £1.29 million and interest and penalties of £1.51 million. EBS is the fifth financial institution to settle with the Revenue. The latest payment brings the total recouped by the Revenue to date to £63.3 million through its trawl of non-resident accounts at all the deposit-taking financial institutions over the 13 years between 1986 and 1999.

Revenue audits are continuing at some 32 financial institutions and the Revenue expects to finalise all outstanding liabilities by November 1st.

In 1998 the EBS had 22,000 non-resident accounts according to the Comptroller and Auditor General's report for the Dail Committee on Public Accounts. At that time there was about £210 million in these accounts. They accounted for about 9.4 per cent of the society's total deposit accounts of just under £2.3 billion. Over the 1986 to 1999 period the amount in non-resident accounts at EBS rise from £11 million to £210 million.

EBS spokesman Mr Pat Farrell said last night that the society's systems had been reviewed and will be kept under continuous review to ensure that there would be no lapses on tax compliance in the future. He compared the £1.29 million DIRT arrears paid to the total DIRT of £200 million paid by the society on all of its compliant deposit accounts over the 13-year period.

Mr Farrell declined to disclose the number or the value of the non-resident accounts that the revenue found to be non-compliant or on whether there was a regional bias in the non-compliance discovered. "We had a full and comprehensive audit across all our accounts," he said.

In a statement issued late yesterday EBS chief executive Mr Pat O'Reilly said: "We are satisfied that there was no evidence that EBS had a systematic problem relating to the validity of non-resident accounts. "We have always had a strong culture and record of compliance. Nevertheless we accept that in some instances there were lapses and we regret that this resulted in a shortfall in tax collected. We are determined that such lapses will not recur". Confirming the payment from EBS, the Revenue said that the full outcome of its overall programme of DIRT audits will be included in its report of the Committee of Public Accounts which will be completed by November 1st.