A quantity surveyor of over 30 years experience has described as 'very unusual' work, which was carried out on Michael Lowry and Ben Dunne's home but attributed to Dunnes Stores premises. Eugene Beglan worked as a surveyor on both homes. He said he had never seen such a practise in the past and hasn't seen it since. He was giving evidence at Naas District Court in a case against Faxhill homes, the company, which carried out the work.
John Tierney is a director of Faxhill Homes, a company that had carried out work for Dunnes Stores and on Michael Lowry and Ben Dunnes homes. He and his company face 25 offences under company law including issuing false information to third parties and inadequate bookkeeping. This was day seven of the trial at Naas District Court before Judge Tom Fitzpatrick.
The court had already heard that Faxhill homes carried out the work on these homes but the extensions to Michael Lowry's home in Holycross Tipperary was treated as work carried out at the Ilac Centre Dunnes Stores in Dublin. Extensions to Ben Dunnes home was described as work to Newbridge Foods, a Dunnes subsidiary in County Kildare.
Mr Beglan was giving evidence at the Naas District Court. He was asked to work on Michael Lowry and Ben Dunnes homes, but when certificates relating to this work referred to the Dunnes stores premises and not the private homes, he queried it. He was told by the architect involved that Dunnes Stores had requested that this work be treated in such a way.
The work on the two homes amounted to £1.4m. Mr Beglan worked as a quantity surveyor since 1968. He agreed that it was extremely unusual that the work be treated in this way. He said he had never experienced such a practise before or since. The case has been adjourned until the 19 February.
