Lowry 'tried to get €500,000 rent deal for Dunne'

FORMER minister Michael Lowry tried to get a son of former Fine Gael Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald to lean on an employee to sanction a rent increase on a property owned by Ben Dunne, the Moriarty Tribunal heard.

If the alleged ploy had worked, it would have put over 500,000 of taxpayers' money into the supermarket boss's pocket as the tenant of the building was then State-owned company, Telecom Éireann.

Mr Dunne has written to the tribunal denying the allegation and saying he only contacted Mr Lowry to see if he could hurry up the rent review process.

Mr Lowry, who was then Minister for Communications and responsible for Telecom Éireann, has said he doesn't remember conversations he is alleged to have had on the subject and rejects absolutely the claim that he tried to influence the process.

The claims were made by Mark FitzGerald of auctioneers, Sherry FitzGerald, who was a trustee of the Fine Gael party at the time. He said Mr Lowry's approaches took place in late March or April 1995.

He told the tribunal yesterday Mr Lowry made three approaches to him in the space of a week.

Mr FitzGerald first phoned him and asked if he had a "man called Gill" working for him who was involved in a building off O'Connell Street in Dublin.

Mr FitzGerald replied that Gordon Gill worked for him but he knew nothing about the property referred to. He called Mr Gill who told him he had been appointed arbitrator in a disputed rent review on a building known as Marlborough House or Telecom House.

Mr Lowry phoned Mr FitzGerald again and, over coffee, said Ben Dunne had bought Marlborough House with a rental value of £5 (6.35) per square foot and he wanted it increased to £10 (12.70).

Mr Lowry said "your man Gill" could help and when Mr FitzGerald stated "emphatically" that he could not interfere with an independent arbitrator, Mr Lowry replied: "What are we going to do? Ben Dunne has contributed £170,000 to Fine Gael." Mr Fitzgerald said his reply was "not to go there, Michael".

Mr Lowry raised the matter a third time after arranging to view a house he said he was interested in buying but later demonstrated no interest in. "I was explicitly emphatic in telling him not to pursue the matter," Mr FitzGerald said.

The rental value of the building was subsequently revised upwards but only to £6 per square foot (7.60) but Mr FitzGerald said the whole episode left him "sceptical" of Mr Lowry.