Two accountancy partners told the DIRT inquiry they were unaware of bogus non-resident accounts being opened in financial institutions in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Mr Noel Cooke of KPMG said he did not know about the phenomenon as "an organised system which seems to have been going on in places in the west and the south of Ireland".
Mr Denis O'Connor said these bogus accounts had come to his attention only "in this context through these discussions". He was not aware of any anecdotal evidence of widespread DIRT evasion.
Mr Sean Ardagh: Were you not? And was Mr Cooke aware of any anecdotal evidence that there were bogus non-resident accounts?
Mr Cooke: No, I was not really.
Mr Ardagh: No?
Mr Cooke: I'm nearly embarrassed to say it. So many people seem to have known about it.
Mr Pat Rabbitte: Another member of the pioneer total abstinence institution.
Mr Rabbitte added that it said this was the first day there had been witnesses saying they had never heard of the bogus non-resident account phenomenon. "Here we have two senior professionals from a very reputable audit company and neither of you ever heard of it," he said.
Earlier, Mr Cooke said KPMG was very conscious of interest and penalties for tax liabilities. "We would certainly encourage clients at all times to pay their tax liability and resolve things with Revenue." He said he did not recall the Killarney incident in 1991, when Irish Permanent's internal audit unit reclassified £5 million as resident accounts and began paying DIRT.
Mr P. McGowan, another KPMG partner, said he had been aware of anecdotal evidence about particular managers "in various parts of the country" soliciting deposits incorrectly but he was unaware of the extent of the problem.
He agreed that, as a tax partner, he would conclude at the end of an audit that tax had been fairly calculated.
Mr David Kelly, head of internal audit for Irish Life & Permanent, said non-resident accounts had not reduced dramatically when special savings accounts (SSAs) were introduced in 1992. SSAs accounts enjoy special tax benefits.
Mr Kelly said there was "a reduction in the rate of increase in non-resident accounts" at the time SSAs were introduced. They were a legitimate alternative to non-resident accounts and their introduction was "a reasonable argument" for him to discontinue auditing non-resident accounts in Irish Permanent branches, he said.