Two members of the board of the Irish Permanent Building Society visited Mr Charles Haughey at home in the 1980s to apologise for the conduct of an English builder associated with the society who had called on the Fianna Fail leader's home unannounced.
The builder wished to co-develop the site of the proposed International Financial Services Centre with the Irish Permanent. The former chief executive of the society, Dr Edmund Farrell, told the tribunal yesterday that the man "had taken it upon himself . . . to call upon Mr Haughey without notice and caused disruption and distress" to the former Taoiseach.
The incident took place "no later than 1987", Dr Farrell said. At the time, the IFSC was "coming to the stage where the consortium would be chosen".
Dr Farrell did not know "the nature of the embarrassment caused", but his colleague "was very anxious that an apology should be tendered" and they both went to Abbeville one Sunday to apologise.
The only other occasion Dr Farrell visited Abbeville was for the reception following the wedding of Mr Haughey's son, Ciaran, in 1992.
Dr Farrell had a number of other social contacts with Mr Haughey over a period of about 10 years. The first time he met him was at a Fianna Fail fundraising lunch in the early to mid-1980s. Mr Haughey was later a guest at Mr Farrell's former home in Westminster Road, Foxrock.
At the start of their acquaintance, Dr Farrell would meet Mr Haughey once a year for lunch, but that increased to approximately three times a year. He had lunch with Mr Haughey in the office of the Taoiseach twice.
To the best of Dr Farrell's knowledge, "nothing of substance in terms of politics or building society business was discussed".
The former building society chief executive was also invited to a State dinner for Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands at Dublin Castle, which Mr Haughey also attended.
Mr Farrell was also a member of the Irish Building Societies Association, and would have a number of meetings with Mr Haughey through that association along with other chief executives. Two of the meetings he recalled dealt with interest-rate subsidies and the Building Societies Act.
Along with "many other people" Mr Haughey was a guest of the Irish Permanent at the first Barry McGuigan world title fight. He was also a guest of the society for lunch while he was Taoiseach.
Dr Farrell has had no contact with the Taoiseach since 1992. He had been "embroiled in some litigation" and during that period he avoided contact because "whenever scandal was generated . . . Mr Haughey seemed to be dragged into it and I did not wish this to happen".
The first subsequent contact was when he sent Mr Haughey a Christmas card in 1997 and 1998 "and received one in return".
