Dublin West TD Mr Liam Lawlor told the High Court yesterday he is agreeable to revisiting a bank in Liechtenstein with a Flood tribunal representative so the tribunal's "misplaced suspicion" about documents it seeks may be "wholly dispelled".
Mr Lawlor visited Liechtenstein earlier this month because of the tribunal's dissatisfaction with his discovery of documents. He said that while he was imprisoned earlier this month, he had resolved to go to Liechtenstein.
Mr Lawlor was giving evidence on affidavit during the hearing of claims by the tribunal that he has not yet supplied it with all the documents sought.
The Lucan-based deputy has already served two seven-day jail terms and faces another sentence if the court finds he is still in breach of discovery orders.
In his affidavit yesterday, Mr Lawlor told Mr Justice Smyth he believed he had complied with conditions attached to the suspended sentence imposed on him by the court in January 2001. He entirely refuted the claim that he was in breach.
He believed it was likely the tribunal would never admit to being satisfied with anything he had done in the past or might do in future.
However, he asked the court to carefully consider what he had stated and to draw the conclusion that no further order was required.
He said he had caused representations to be made to the Liechtenstein bank, Landesbank, but it did not initially furnish his advisers with the documents it had on the account.
He had not thought it would be necessary for him to visit Liechtenstein to get copies of the documents in question and could not see why the bank had not initially provided the copies required.
He could only conclude the bank did not consider the importance of his request. It appeared the bank only realised the importance of conducting a thorough search for documents when it became clear its failure to do so had caused him to spend two periods in jail and placed him under threat of a third.
Mr Lawlor said the court had seen the "copious" efforts he had made to obtain the documents over a lengthy period. That was due to the fact, he believed, that he had attended the bank personally. He believed the tribunal now had sight of a number of items of correspondence from Landesbank which indicated that, so far as it was concerned, it had provided all relevant documents to him.
What appeared to be a suspicion by the tribunal that Landesbank had, in some way or other, been complicit in helping him not to provide full and proper discovery was wholly groundless, he said.
He was willing to execute any further authority to enable the tribunal, or its agents, attend Landesbank and inquire into such matters.
Mr Frank Clarke SC, for the tribunal, referred to bank accounts here which the TD held jointly with his son, Niall. Counsel said some €322,154 would appear to have gone through these following disclosure to date. It was clear there were significant "round number" lodgments, including two lodgments of €30,000 in November 1990 and smaller sums.
There was a significant number of lodgments which needed to be analysed. In many cases they related to a period of interest to, and particular focus for, the tribunal, counsel said.
They now knew that a payment from Mr Thomas Roche of National Toll Roads went into those accounts.
Mr John Trainor SC, for Mr Lawlor, said they were not nominee accounts. Significant lodgments into them were for Mr Lawlor's benefit.
In his affidavit, Mr Lawlor referred to a claim by the tribunal that details given to it over what were known as the Navona Ltd/Coolamber lands (in the Lucan area) were so vague as to be of little assistance in identifying the category of documents which he once had but were no longer in his possession.
He said it must be understood he was never a shareholder, director or had held any capacity in any companies associated with the Coolamber lands, which meant he never held any documents other than that discovered to date.
Referring to US bank accounts/new Irish bank accounts, Mr Lawlor said the tribunal's solicitor was unfair in his criticism.
He had managed to procure further documents, the existence of which he had not previously been aware of, and had sought immediate discovery to the tribunal.
The hearing continues today.