Paircéir argued down valuation of Dunnes by £40m

THE Moriarty Tribunal has heard that former Revenue chairman, Seamus Paircéir, argued down the valuation put on the Dunnes Stores family trust by his own officials by around £40 million.

Former Dunnes Stores trustee Frank Bowen said representatives of the supermarket group held “a critical meeting” with Mr Paircéir in 1985 following an earlier meeting with the then Finance Minister Alan Dukes to discuss the group’s exposure to tax.

Mr Bowen said he had contacted his friend, the late Fine Gael TD Hugh Coveney, to arrange for Ben Dunne to meet Mr Dukes in 1985 to discuss the trust’s tax issues.