Ray Burke has again apologised for misleading the Dáil about political donations in 1997. He accepted that his statement had been misleading on a number of issues. He said that he had apologised from the witness box at the Tribunal two years ago and repeated that apology today. He said that he was under severe pressure at the time.
Mr Burke's speech to the Dáil in 1997 was revisited at the Tribunal. During that speech he told the Dáil that he had no offshore accounts, that he only received political contributions in election years and that the largest amount of money he received was £30,000. He also produced a letter from his bank manager showing that he had an overdraft of £35,000 and asked if that looked like someone who was awash with money. The Tribunal heard that at that time he had £127,000 on deposit. Mr Burke also said that he found a question from Jim O'Keeffe about off shore accounts offensive in 1997. When asked today why he found that offensive he said that it was the fact that it was one colleague asking another across the house about their financial affairs.
Earlier, Ray Burke, admitted to the Tribunal that he broke the law by holding money in offshore accounts and in London in the 1980s, and by moving that money in and out of Ireland. Mr Burke acknowledged that he should have asked the Central Bank for permission to move the money, as the law of the time required him to do. He accepted that some of this illegal activity went on while he was a government minister.
He denied that his explanation for the movement of money between bank accounts was implausible. Mr Burke is being questioned about £15,000 he claims he withdrew from a Jersey bank account in 1985 and re-lodged 10 days later. He claims to have carried the cash from London to Ireland and back to Jersey.
Tribunal lawyers have suggested two different sums of money were involved and that Mr Burke's version of events was implausible because it would be a troublesome way to move money. Mr Burke said that he was never the most organised in looking after his own affairs. Mr Burke said that he now freely admitted he should have applied to the Central Bank for approval to move the funds.
It was pointed out to Mr Burke that he held some of these off shore accounts while he was a Government Minister. Mr Burke said that he only held one account in London while he was a Minister.
