The following statement was issued yesterday by Mr John Ellis TD:
In 1986, I established a meat abattoir and exporting business which unfortunately proved to be a financial disaster for me personally. This failure was brought about by a combination of bad management and downright bad luck, including the destruction of a number of loads of meat to Britain and the destruction by protesting French farmers of a large shipment of meat to France for which I received no compensation whatever from the French government or otherwise.
As a result of this failure, the business left numerous creditors and to this day, many of those creditors have not been satisfied. One of those creditors was National Irish Bank who, on the 16th October, 1989, issued against me a bankruptcy summons for the initial capital sum loaned and all interest thereon totalling £263,540.71.
I had absolutely no means available to me to discharge those monies and I was very conscious of the fact that if made bankrupt, I would automatically lose my seat in Dail Eireann. I informed Albert Reynolds TD of this fact who, for me, was both a colleague and a friend. On the 28th day of November, 1989, I with my solicitor, attended a meeting of the National Irish Bank (including Mr Lacey) and their solicitors and there outlined to them the full extent of my financial problems and furnished them with full information so as to satisfy them of my lack of means to satisfy the amount due to the Bank.
I understand that at the same time, Albert Reynolds was informing the Bank of my dire circumstances and, in effect, pleaded for leniency for me. As a result, the bank were satisfied that I had no financial means to discharge the amount due and owing to them and that no useful purpose could be served by having me made a bankrupt and in those circumstances, the bank agreed to compromise the matter for a lump sum payment of £20,000.00.
All of the above information has already been furnished to the Moriarty Tribunal. I should add that this entire episode has caused and continues to cause me annoyance and embarrassment.