Fox admits not telling FF inquiry about large donation

FIANNA FÁIL councillor Tony Fox has admitted that he failed to notify a party inquiry into payments to politicians about a large donation from a property company.

Mr Fox a councillor for the Dundrum area of Dublin since 1985 told the Flood Tribunal yesterday that he did not tell a Fianna Fáil committee that he had received two donations totalling £1,600 from Monarch Properties in the early 1990s.

He acknowledged that a £1,000 cheque from Monarch in 1992 represented the largest donation he had ever received in his political career one which was 10 times the size of the average contribution he received for election campaigns.

However, Mr Fox said he had not recalled these payments at the time of the Fianna Fáil inquiry in 2000.

The admission could still create some political difficulties for Cllr Fox as he is expected to seek a nomination to stand in next year's local elections to retain his seat on Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Council.

The political lobbyist, Frank Dunlop, has told the tribunal that he gave Mr Fox two bribes totalling £7,000 during the 1990s in return for his support of controversial motions to rezone land at Carrickmines, Co Dublin.

However, Mr Fox, of Mountain View Park, Rathfarnham, denied receiving £2,000 in 1992 and £5,000 in 1997 for his assistance to get lands owned by Paisley Park/Jackson Way Properties rezoned. Mr Fox a professional tailor and father of seven children claims he was never given any money by the political lobbyist.

He has also told the inquiry that Mr Dunlop had personally confirmed this fact to him after checking his records.

In particular, Mr Fox refuted claims by the PR consultant that they had met at his place of work in Terenure where the councillor had once sought a political donation.

"All of that is absolutely untrue," said Mr Fox, who was chairperson of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Co Council in 1996/1997.

Mr Fox has admitted meeting Mr Dunlop on two occasions since the establishment of the tribunal more than five years ago at which they discussed the progress of the inquiry.

However, he rejects Mr Dunlop's claims that they agreed to tell the tribunal that any payments made between the pair were to be categorised as legitimate political donations.

However, he was unable to explain several entries in Mr Dunlop's diaries which suggested the two men had many more meetings over the past decade.

In his first appearance at Dublin Castle, Mr Fox maintained that he had not heard of any allegations of councillors being offered bribes until the setting up of the tribunal.

Tribunal barrister Pat Quinn SC remarked that "even the dogs in the street had known about allegations of corruption" from the late 1990s.

Mr Fox continues his evidence at Dublin Castle today.