Mr. Joe O'Flynn:

First of all, I have to say I was shocked when I met Dr. Smith on that Monday evening because she alleged that over €2 million had been paid to the union through grants and I certainly was not aware of that. On the evening, I actually presented her with copies of our annual accounts. She outlined the details to me and said that this audit had been going on and that the fund administrator had been assisting in the audit but that they were unhappy at that stage with the level of co-operation. Part of the problem was that the fund administrator had had a serious accident in August and was out, obviously, on sick leave. Notwithstanding that, I thought the nature of the allegation was such that I did ring him. I asked to see him. I went to his home and inquired about the issue. He said he was co-operating with the audit up to the time of the accident and that he would continue to co-operate with it. I expressed my very serious concern about the assertion that this money was meant for SIPTU and that we had no knowledge of it. At that stage, he advised me that he was appointing an auditor to assist him in compiling the information for the HSE and that he would continue to co-operate with the HSE. That was September 2009.

A report was completed on his audit in March 2010. We did not get a copy of that until July, at which stage the issue had become public and, obviously, there were serious concerns about the assertions that were being made. It was at that stage that our trustees decided to conduct their own inquiries into the matter.