Former press secretary gave £30,000 for votes

FRANK Dunlop has told the Flood Tribunal he paid a total of £30,000 to nine past and present councillors in Dublin in return for their votes on controversial rezoning motions relating to lands in south Dublin during the 1990s.

The former government press secretary claims he paid £20,000 in bribes to nine councillors between 1991 and 1993 on behalf of Paisley Park Investments the Isle of Man-registered company which owned 108 acres of land at Carrickmines, Co Dublin.

He also paid out another £10,000 to two councillors in 1997 after they had asked for money in return for their support on another rezoning motion for the same site. The property was then owned by another offshore firm, Jackson Way Properties following the liquidation of Paisley Park.