Counsel for Fianna Fáil TD Ms Beverley Cooper-Flynn claimed in the High Court this afternoon both RTÉ journalist Mr Charlie Bird and retired farmer Mr James Howard (69) of Drogheda were maintaining a position that both know to be untrue.
According to Mr Garrett Cooney SC for Ms Cooper-Flynn, in an article in the Sunday Independenton June 28th, 1998, Mr Jody Corcoran alleged another member of the NIB staff - Ms Patricia Roche - not Ms Cooper-Flynn, sold Mr Howard his CMI portfolio.
The article followed an RTÉ broadcast the previous Wednesday in which Mr Howard alleged Ms Cooper-Flynn had sold him an investment portfolio called CMI and had advised him not to avail of the tax amnesty of 1993 and to leave undeclared money in the scheme.
After reading the article on the Sunday, Mr Cooney says, Mr Howard telephoned Mr Bird because he realised that both he and Mr Bird had "published the most damaging lies" about Ms Flynn.
The result, the court was told, was an interview with Mr Howard and his daughter Marina in which Mr Howard reiterated his original claims made the previous Wednesday and Ms Howard recounted Ms Cooper-Flynn's visit to the family home, despite denials by Ms Cooper-Flynn she had ever met Mr Howard or his daughter.
The interview was broadcast on RTÉ on Wednesday, July 1st, three days after the Sunday Independentarticle was published.
Mr Cooney also claims NIB documents of April 4th and May 13th 1993 indicate that Ms Roche was the person dealing with the proposed purchase of the CMI scheme and not Ms Cooper-Flynn.
"If these documents are accurate," said Mr Cooney, "it undermines completely what you have said about Ms Cooper-Flynn.
". . . I suggest that since Jody Corcoran came to your door, you and Charlie Bird have been sustaining a stance that you know to be untrue."
Mr Howard, however, denies the allegations and says that his dealings with the NIB over the CMI scheme had all been carried out by Ms Cooper-Flynn.
He also denies suggestions made this morning by Mr Cooney that Mr Howard's actions in the libel case are motivated by "frustrated greed".
Mr Cooney suggested Mr Howard had only spoken to Mr Bird because his bank refused to pay the large part of a tax bill of £54,000 in 1998.
Mr Howard, Mr Cooney argued, had "issued the most destructive calumnies" about Ms Cooper-Flynn and that it was "plain as a pikestaff" that his motives for going public were greed and revenge.
Mr Howard denied all allegations and said he went public because of "bad financial advice" he had got in 1993 from Ms Cooper-Flynn.
He went public, he said, after a programme on RTÉ in 1998 featured other people from the Cavan/Monaghan area who were also having problems with the Revenue Commissioner because of the scheme.
He wanted to bring it to the attention of the public, Mr Howard told the court.
Ms Cooper-Flynn is suing RTÉ journalist Mr Charlie Bird and retired farmer Mr James Howard of Wheaton Hall in Drogheda in Co Louth.
She claims she was libelled in broadcasts on RTÉ between June 19th 1998 and July 1st 1998 and words used on the programme claimed she had instigated a scheme, the object of which was the evasion of the lawful payment of tax.