Lawlor demanded 'at least £150,000'

LAND developer Tom Gilmartin has accused Liam Lawlor of seeking at least £150,000 to assist with planning matters relating to major developments planned for Dublin city in the late 1980s.

In a statement contested by Mr Lawlor, Mr Gilmartin says the former Fianna Fáil TD made the first demand in June 1988 when he arrived "unexpectedly and unannounced" at a London meeting between Mr Gilmartin and representatives of British investment firm, Arlington Securities.

Mr Gilmartin was negotiating with Arlington to secure financial backing for a retail centre and bus terminus along Bachelors Walk on Dublin's quays. He says Mr Lawlor introduced himself as the "person appointed by the Government to look after Bachelors Walk" and sought a £100,000 consultancy fee.

He says Arlington agreed to pay Mr Lawlor £3,500 a month for 10 months and asked Mr Gilmartin to make the payments personally and recoup the money from Arlington.

He says he stopped the payments to Mr Lawlor in March 1989 after his bank manager told him Mr Lawlor had falsely claimed Mr Gilmartin had authorised a payment of £10,000 to him.

Head of the tribunal's legal team, John Gallagher SC, said there was confusion surrounding the payments. Arlington denied Liam Lawlor offered to act as a consultant and said no money was paid to him.

Mr Lawlor was saying he received £35,000 from Mr Gilmartin and £33,000 sterling from Arlington but the Tribunal had records of seven payments of £3,500 each into Mr Lawlor's bank accounts after Mr Gilmartin stopped paying him.

Mr Gallagher said Mr Lawlor would say he had presumed the extra payments came from Mr Gilmartin and all the payments were political contributions towards election expenses and the running of his constituency office.

Mr Gilmartin and Arlington hoped to get EU funding for the Bachelors Walk project but although it appeared there were numerous meetings, involving CIE and Cabinet members, it did not get the funding and the project failed.

Mr Gilmartin had become interested in lands at Quarryvale in west Dublin and said Mr Lawlor set up a meeting for him with then assistant city and county manager, George Redmond.

He claims Mr Redmond produced a map showing the owners of tracts of land in the Quarryvale area whom Mr Gilmartin was trying to trace. He says Mr Lawlor asked for £100,000 for their assistance, which Mr Gilmartin took to mean one payment, which he and Mr Redmond would divide between them.

He says when they left, Mr Lawlor told him Mr Redmond "would have to be taken care of".

He says as he began acquiring land in Quarryvale, he became aware he needed a material contravention of the county development plan to put a shopping centre on it and Mr Lawlor introduced him to then Fianna Fáil councillor, Finbarr Hanrahan.

Mr Gilmartin alleges he met Mr Hanrahan in Buswell's Hotel after Christmas in 1988 and the councillor told him he wanted £100,000 for his support. Mr Gilmartin said he got up in disgust and left.