The £58,500 paid by Mr Ben Dunne to nine politicians and four local party organisations were "normal political contributions" and had no ulterior motive, the report states. "The tribunal is satisfied that all of these payments . . . were made by Mr Ben Dunne on the basis of his personal regard for the individuals or organisations concerned, and were amounts which he would have considered to be relatively small," the report says. "The tribunal does not believe there was any further motive behind those payments."
The report outlines the other donations made by Mr Dunne which were considered by the tribunal, and in each case concludes that the donations had no improper motive.
In October 1990, Mr Dunne gave a cheque for £15,000 to Mr Ruairi Quinn towards Mrs Mary Robinson's presidential election campaign.
"The tribunal is satisfied that it was a spontaneous gesture on the part of Mr Ben Dunne to contribute to Mrs Mary Robinson's campaign."
In April 1993, Mr Dunne gave a cheque for £50,000 to Mr Dick Spring to help fund an aquadome project, Waterworld, in Tralee. The contribution had been solicited by Mr Spring and was passed on to Waterworld. "The tribunal is quite satisfied that this was a normal transaction whereby Dunnes Stores were, for commercial reasons, prepared to contribute to a facility in a town where they did business."
Mr Dunne made three substantial contributions to Fine Gael, totalling £180,000, between October 1989 and May 1993. These contributions "appear to have been made with the motive of assisting Fine Gael in its financial difficulties and of trying to ensure a stable opposition to the Government".