The Revenue Commissioners assessment of Mr Haughey's outstanding taxes was based on the McCracken Tribunal Report which found that he had received payments of £1.3 million from Mr Ben Dunne.

Mr Dunne, the former managing director of the family-owned Dunnes Stores group, made four payments for the benefit of Mr Haughey which amounted to £1.1 million. These were paid at the request of Mr Des Traynor, the accountant who had looked after Mr Haughey's affairs. In addition, Mr Dunne personally handed three bank drafts for £70,000 sterling each to Mr Haughey, in November, 1991. The McCracken Tribunal found that the three payments were a "spontaneous gesture" and no request for funds had been made to Mr Dunne.

However, the first four payments totalling £1.1 million were made via Mr Noel Fox, an accountant and a trustee of the Dunnes Stores Group, at the request of Mr Des Traynor.

All of this money was paid into an account of a Cayman Islands bank - Ansbacher Cayman Ltd - which was held in Guinness & Mahon (Ireland) Ltd, in Dublin, having been routed through various British bank accounts.

Mr Justice McCracken was told that Mr Traynor had initially approached Mr Fox saying he had a significant problem, a business problem that related to Mr Haughey. Mr Traynor was trying to put together about six people who would contribute £150,000 each towards solving Mr Haughey's problem.

The first £1.1 million was paid in four tranches:

A payment of £182,630 sterling in late November 1987, which was the equivalent of £205,000. This money was provided by way of a cheque made out to Mr John Furze, a Cayman Islands-based banker who died last year.

A payment of £471,000 sterling- requested by Mr Traynor in July 1988, who asked that the money be paid into a Barclays Bank account for the credit of Mr Furze.

A £150,000 sterling payment, made in May 1989.

A £200,000 sterling payment, again requested by Mr Traynor.

Early in November, 1991, Mr Dunne asked Mr Noel Smyth, a solicitor and businessman who was also Mr Dunne's close adviser, to get him three bank drafts of £70,000 each from an Isle of Man account. The drafts were to be made out in invented names.

At the time they were not intended for Mr Haughey's benefit, but were drawn down for "personal reasons", according to Mr Dunne. A few days later, following a golf game, Mr Dunne, who had the drafts in his pocket, visited Mr Haughey's home.

He told the tribunal that Mr Haughey seemed down, and when leaving he handed the three bank drafts to the former Taoiseach. "Look, that is something for yourself," he said. "Thank you big fellow," Mr Haughey replied.

The three bank drafts were lodged directly to an account of Ansbacher Cayman Ltd with Irish Intercontinental Bank in Dublin.