The bookkeeper of Bovale Developments Ltd said yesterday she could not explain why the company gave £18,200 in political contributions during 1997. The house builders had made no political donations for almost nine years before that.
The donations ranged from £4,500 to £200 and in only two instances could the names of the politicians who received the money be established. One was a local councillor. Counsel for the Flood tribunal, Mr Desmond O'Neill SC, said those names would not be made public.
The payments were made during May, June and July 1997. No payee was listed on most of the cheques. The majority were made out "for cash".
Mr O'Neill asked the company bookkeeper, Ms Caroline Bailey, if she was surprised that political contributions were structured in such a way that the person receiving the money could not be identified from the cheques. Ms Bailey said this had nothing to do with her; it was a directors' decision. The directors include her husband, Mr Tom Bailey.
Counsel also queried why the company had made no political contributions for almost nine years and then paid £18,200 to politicians, the majority of whom were not known. Ms Bailey said she could not explain that.
Mr O'Neill asked Ms Bailey what she understood a political contribution to be - was it a donation to a politician of a certain rank or to a local cumann?
"I did not bother trying to fathom out what it was for because I wasn't interested," she replied.
Ms Bailey said she was given a list of cheques by the company directors and told to change the way they were entered in the company's original cheque journal, which had been given to the auditor before the books were handed over to the tribunal last year. She was told to enter them as political contributions. One had originally been entered as a payment to Dublin County Council.
Ms Bailey, a former employee of Bank of Ireland, said she did not know how the directors compiled the list.
The tribunal was also told yesterday that forensic tests conducted in Britain on the "kitten book", a record of cash payments written up by Ms Bailey for Mr Bailey, had proved inconclusive. Some of the payments seemed to refer to Mr James Gogarty.
Last November the tribunal decided to send the book, with a picture of a cat on the cover, for examination to find out if entries were made on dates given. Mr O'Neill said the tests did not establish one way or another the authenticity of the book.