The State is facing legal bills of more than €400m from the Mahon and Moriarty Tribunals.

Had Fred Forsey not cheated on his wife, we would probably not know of his corruption It seems little has changed despite all the tribunals, writes Michael Clifford

Former assistant Dublin city and county manager George Redmond cannot sue the planning tribunal over corruption findings it made against him, the High Court has ruled.

The High Court has stopped an action by former assistant Dublin city and county manager George Redmond against a finding of corruption made by the Planning Tribunal.

Payouts for third-party costs for the tribunal have so far amounted to nearly €10m, but the final figure is expected to be many multiples of this.

A small newspaper ad offering a £10,000 reward led to the establishment of the Mahon tribunal, writes Michael Clifford.

With Irish exports to Britain poised to grow in the wake of Queen Elizabeth’s visit, from businessman Gerry Robinson to TV and radio presenter Terry Wogan, the Irish are making their presence felt there, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

THE taxpayer bill for witnesses and their legal costs at the Mahon Tribunal continues to mount – a year and a half after the planning corruption inquiry stopped hearing evidence.

THE taxpayer bill for witnesses and their legal costs at the Mahon Tribunal continues to mount – a year and a half after the planning corruption inquiry stopped hearing evidence.

I AGREE with Paddy Phelan (Letters, December 28) when he complains that we all have been too deferential to the Catholic Church authorities.

Property developers named at the tribunal — such as the Bailey brothers, found guilty by Flood of a litany of tax evasions and obstructions, in addition to making corrupt payments — continued to bank tens of millions of euro in profits each year.

George Redmond told gardaí he regularly received large sums of money from people representing development companies his corruption trial has been told.

THE Mahon Tribunal is paying out more than three-quarters of expenses and costs being claimed by third parties, according to bills settled so far with individuals and companies.

IMAGINE if solicitor Michael Lynn, who is being sought over property debts of about €60 million, was a young man from a poorish urban neighbourhood where the only fashion decision necessary would be which colour hoodie to wear.

LISTENING to some of the attacks on Mr Justice Alan Mahon over his handling of Tom Gilmartin reminds me of the story of Friedrich Riesfeldt, 46, of Paderborn, Germany, a highly conscientious zookeeper who cared passionately about his animals.

OVER 33 sometimes tedious, and more often entertaining, days in the witness box at Dublin Castle in 1999, James Gogarty achieved a fame that few octogenarians experience.

THE death of former building company director James Gogarty on Thursday has made it less likely that anybody will ever face a criminal prosecution for corruption uncovered by the Planning Tribunal.

IF ever an Irish citizen could justly quote the lofty sentiments of Shakespeare’s Othello and say “I have done the State some service”, it was James Gogarty.

The whistleblower whose allegations against Ray Burke led to the establishment of the Planning Tribunal has reportedly died at the age of 88.

JMCC Holdings, the engineering company at the centre of the planning corruption tribunal, paid out €16.3 million dividends to its shareholders last year.

The Mahon Tribunal has awarded full costs to 10 parties who gave evidence during early modules of the inquiry into alleged planning corruption in Dublin.

The Planning Tribunal is due to rule this week on whether the State should pay €3.5m in costs to James Gogarty, the businessman whose corruption allegations were at the centre of the inquiry's early work.

ONE of the main witnesses in the Planning Tribunal, James Gogarty, 86, has applied for €3.5m in legal costs arising out of his long-running involvement with the inquiry.

WHILE it's some consolation to the public that Ray Burke won't be admiring the north Dublin trees for a few months, the fact remains that he'll make more money than most of us during his sojourn in Arbour Hill prison for tax offences.

Taxpayers should not be expected to pay countless millions to keep the Mahon Tribunal into planning corruption going for more than a decade, it was claimed tonight.

WHEN a properly-run democracy contemplates a major change like electronic voting, certain steps are taken.

GEORGE REDMOND, who is serving a 12-month prison sentence on corruption charges, could face further criminal prosecutions for the same offence after the latest interim report by the Planning Tribunal found he had received bribes from two businessmen in the late 1980s.

FORMER assistant Dublin city and county manager George Redmond lodged sums of money equivalent to the value of “a substantial house” each year since the early 1960s to his bank accounts, according to the Planning Tribunal.

The Planning Tribunal’s report into the activities of George Redmond will reportedly be published later today.

RAY BURKE could elevate hubris into an art form.

LITTLE wonder that Frank Dunlop, the man who has admitted paying a host of councillors cash for re-zoning votes, has been dubbed ‘the canary’ by many attending the Flood Tribunal.

RAY BURKE was given a clean bill of health by the Garda Commissioner, prior to his appointment to the cabinet in 1997, the Taoiseach said yesterday.

TO say the Taoiseach revealed little that was substantially new about the Ray Burke affair when he addressed the Dáil yesterday would be an understatement.

BERTIE Ahern, the Teflon Taoiseach, is finally coming unstuck.

Forget Harry Potter and Roy Keane. The Flood Report is the hottest book in town.

RAY Burke's period as chairman of Dublin Co Council will be examined in the next stage of the Flood Tribunal after its findings that the former minister received corrupt payments in the late 1980s.

THE Flood Tribunal findings are a damning indictment of Ray Burke, the Taoiseach who appointed him, and the Fianna Fáil party which sustained him in political office, Labour leader Ruairi Quinn said last night.

RAY BURKE and almost 20 others could face prosecution for taking bribes and/or attempting to hinder the work of the Flood Tribunal.

FORMER Fianna Fáil minister Ray Burke could be facing a two-year jail sentence over his failure to co-operate with the Tribunal on 14 separate counts.

FORMER minister Ray Burke was handed £30,000 in cash at his home in north Dublin in June 1989 and knew it was for his support and influence in rezoning lucrative development land, the Flood Tribunal has concluded.

THE Flood Tribunal’s star witness, 85-year-old James Gogarty, was last night toasting the findings with a quiet drink.

The first report of the Flood Tribunal on planning and payments is due to be published today.