Courts / Dublin / Report

Trial of prominent republican hears Revenue Inspector evidence

Date
2015-11-12

Stage
Trial

Primary locality
Dublin

County
Dublin

Summary

The trial of Thomas Murphy, 66, of Ballybinaby, Hackballscross, Co Louth, continued at the Special Criminal Court in Dublin. The defendant, a prominent republican, has pleaded not guilty to nine charges alleging he failed to furnish income tax returns for the years 1996/97 to 2004. Prosecutors, acting on a Criminal Assets Bureau investigation, allege that despite conducting significant cattle and land dealings and receiving farming grants, Murphy did not pay taxes. During cross-examination, a Revenue Inspector testified that he estimated Murphy's farming income at 15,000 Irish Pounds annually from 1996 to 2001, and 15,000 Euro annually from 2002 to 2004. The Inspector stated these figures were fair and equitable based on available documentation, though he acknowledged the records were incomplete. Defence counsel John Kearney QC challenged the evidence, noting the Inspector did not verify signatures on grant applications and that Murphy's brother, Patrick, had transferred a herd number to his wife in 2001. The Inspector maintained this transfer was commercially normal and did not raise scepticism. Kearney further argued that documentation suggested a single farming unit and that Patrick Murphy's 2008 settlement with the State relied on a statement citing a herd number attributed to Thomas Murphy. The Inspector declined to speculate on whether Patrick's returns related to another herd. The trial continues.