At the Moriarty Tribunal, Charles Haughey is being brought through the records of bank accounts held in his name in the late Seventies and the early Eighties. Tribunal lawyers say that they are doing so to support deductions they have drawn about the former Taoiseach's finances.
Senior Counsel for the Tribunal, John Coughlan, said that they were bending over backwards to give justifiable credit to everything they could. That was why they were conducting what turned out this morning to be a painstaking trawl through bank records. "I cannot be of any assistance" was Charles Haughey's reply again and again as Tribunal lawyers brought him through lodgements totalling more than £500,000 to an account held in his name in the seventies and eighties. Tribunal lawyers listed accounts and payments related to Ansbacher. On Monday, Mr Haughey said that he knew nothing of these accounts. Today he appeared to row back on this. "To the best of my recollection, If I was aware of them at the time I have since forgotten", he said.
Charles Haughey once again said that Des Traynor had taken care of his finances. When asked did he think his contention was "believable", Mr Haughey said "that is the position". He also said that the Tribunal should consult his current accountant, a Mr Peelo. Mr Haughey said again and again that he could not comment on assessments the Tribunal were making about his financial affairs except to say that if the Tribunal had established certain facts then he had no alternative but to agree.
