Lawyers for the Flood Tribunal have rejected an accusation from auctioneer John Finnegan that they have been trying to "do him down" and "get" him.
Responding to objections raised by Mr Finnegan's lawyers this morning, Tribunal lawyers said they were entitled to inquire into Mr Finnegan's conduct as an auctioneer.
Patricia Dillon, for the Tribunal, also defended the its right to inquire into six land deals that had involved the auctioneer as well as the builders Tom Brennan and Joe McGowan.
Ms Dillon said there was an absolute dearth of information as to why Mr Finnegan had received large amounts of the profits from these deals even though, for most of the deals, he had put up no money. There had also been absolute silence from Mr Finnegan as to where the money had gone, she added.
Ms Dillon said the Tribunal was obliged to inquire into why Mr Finnegan received this money and what he did with it. She also rejected the suggestion that she had made accusations of bribery against Mr Finnegan. Ms Dillon said she was merely putting possible scenarios to the witness, Joe McGowan, which he rejected.
