Dunlop was ‘under siege’ for bribes
Mr Dunlop has told the inquiry that elected members of Dublin County Council actively sought cash in return for their support of rezoning motions: “The local elections were just around the corner. Without being dramatic about it, I was under siege for money from a wide range of politicians, mostly councillors I was dealing with on an almost daily basis.”
On his third day of evidence, Mr Dunlop described meetings with councillors he has admitted bribing in return for their votes on a controversial rezoning motion on lands in Carrickmines, Co Dublin, in 1992.
The inquiry is investigating claims that tax exile Jim Kennedy gave Mr Dunlop £25,000 to pay councillors to support the rezoning of 108 acres of land owned by the Isle of Man-registered company Paisley Park in Carrickmines.
Mr Dunlop said he had lobbied a significant number of councillors, particularly those in Fianna Fail, as well as some Fine Gael elected representatives. He identified Tom Hand (FG), Tony Fox (FF), Colm McGrath (FF), Sean Gilbride (FF), Jack Larkin (FF) and Cyril Gilbride (FF) as those with whom he would have discussed support for the Paisley Park lands in return for money.
Mr Dunlop said his discussions with Colm McGrath were never confined to one item or development. A similar situation occurred in his talks with former councillor Sean Gilbride. Mr Dunlop said they had discussions about money on several occasions.
It was clear that Mr Gilbride’s support for any motion was contingent on him being paid money, said Mr Dunlop. “It’ll cost you,” Mr Gilbride allegedly remarked on one occasion. He claimed he paid Mr Gilbride £1,000 in cash on the day before the Paisley Park motion had been narrowly defeated at a meeting of Dublin Co Council in June 1992. “It was an inducement,” remarked Mr Dunlop. “I said ‘there’s the grand’ and he said ‘thanks very much’.”
When told that Mr Gilbride denied the allegations, Mr Dunlop replied: “I neither retract, amend, nor vary what I said.” Mr Dunlop rejected Mr Gilbride’s claims that he had also been given a legitimate political donation of £2,000 at the time of the 1991 local elections. He disagreed with the assertion by the Swords-based councillor that his sole reason for voting in favour of rezoning Paisley Park was because local FF councillors supported it.
The late Jack Larkin was described as “an extremely amiable man who never asked anybody any serious questions about any development”.
Mr Dunlop said Cllr Larkin would invariably support a motion if informed that Cllr Gilbride and Cllr Gallagher were in favour of it. He remembered Cllr Larkin saying that he would need “a few bob” to vote for the Paisley Park rezoning. A bundle of £1,000 in cash was handed to Cllr Larkin in Conway’s pub around the corner from the council’s office on some date after the vote. Mr Dunlop agreed that the transaction happened in a very public place.
“I put it between us and he deftly removed it,” said Mr Dunlop.
Tribunal counsel John Gallagher SC said there was no response to the allegations because of Mr Larkin’s death. However, he pointed out that the politician had replied in a questionnaire to the tribunal in 1998 that he was unaware of any payments that could amount to planning corruption.
Mr Dunlop said his discussion with the late Cllr Hand on the subject of the Carrickmines lands was similar to other such meetings about rezoning issues. “Put simply, money would be required for his support,” said Mr Dunlop. He believed Mr Hand’s support had already cost him, as payments had already been given to the Dundrum-based councillor in relation to other developments.
Cllr Tony Fox told Mr Dunlop that he would be supportive of a motion to rezone the Paisley Park lands, but he advised the PR consultant that other councillors would also have to be paid.
“I would need to look after people,” recalled Mr Dunlop. He told Cllr Fox that he understood the position, although he noted councillors had also received other money. Cllr Fox agreed with Mr Dunlop that he would support the motion in advance of any payment.
Mr Dunlop said it wasn’t usual for Cllr Fox to ask many questions about the merits or ownership of any proposed rezoning. However, he stressed that that was not to say that Cllr Fox would vote on just anything.
Deceased councillor Cyril Gallagher was informed that he would not be paid any money in advance of the Paisley Park motion coming before the council.
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