Dunlop stands by Cosgrave payout payments

FRANK DUNLOP has stood over claims that he paid £5,000 to Liam Cosgrave just before the former Fine Gael TD attended a funeral in Blackrock, Co Dublin, despite the fact that the tribunal has been unable to establish any evidence of such a service in the church on that date.

The former government press secretary yesterday rebuffed claims by Mr Cosgrave’s legal team that the incident could not have taken place. Mr Dunlop said that he remembered the occasion well because it was “delivery day” when he paid out a total of £12,000 to several politicians, including Mr Cosgrave.

“That was the day I was delivering not only to your client but to others,” said Mr Dunlop, who pointed out that he had given sums of £3,000 and £4,000 to a TD and councillor, respectively.

His diary entry for November 11, 1992 records the political lobbyist meeting Mr Cosgrave at Newtownpark Avenue, Blackrock at 2.30pm.

Mr Dunlop said he had discussed the upcoming general election with Mr Cosgrave a few days earlier in which the politician had expressed concern that he was facing “an uphill struggle” within Fine Gael as regards a nomination. He agreed to give Mr Cosgrave £5,000 to support his campaign.

Mr Dunlop said the two men arranged to meet outside the church on Newtownpark Avenue, where Mr Cosgrave had indicated he was attending a funeral. Mr Dunlop recalled the pair meeting on a footpath a short distance from the church.

His only information about the funeral was the fact that Mr Cosgrave had mentioned that he was going to one in the church.

“We did not discuss the funeral or who was dead,” said Mr Dunlop. He agreed with Michael O’Higgins SC for Mr Cosgrave that 2.30pm was a strange time for a funeral or removal. Informed that the tribunal had been unable to find any evidence that a funeral had taken place at the church on the date in question, Mr Dunlop replied: “I don’t accept that the story didn’t check out.”

Mr Dunlop said he was uncertain of the source of the money he gave to Mr Cosgrave, although he accepted that it could have been part of a £10,000 payment he received from the promoters of Citywest Business Park on November 10, 1992.

The tribunal heard that Mr Dunlop was in receipt of substantial amounts of money during that period, including £134,000 in fees from Cork property developer Owen O’Callaghan for work done on a sports stadium project in Neilstown, Co Dublin.

Mr Dunlop said he had also discussed the tribunal with Mr Cosgrave and agreed that the planning inquiry would not be a success which he partly attributed to his own “certain cockiness.” He recently told the tribunal that Mr Cosgrave had advised him that they need to be careful following the establishment of the tribunal as well as recalling another payment to the Blackrock-based councillor during the 1997 election.

In other evidence, Mr Dunlop again insisted that he gave £3,000 as a legitimate political donation to Labour leader Pat Rabbitte in 1992. However, Mr Rabbitte claims the sum was only £2,000 which was returned to Mr Dunlop within a few weeks.

Meanwhile, barrister for solicitor John Caldwell refuted claims made by Mr Dunlop on Thursday that his client had given £12,500 to the PR consultant for an improper purpose. Ian Finlay SC said Mr Caldwell had already explained to the tribunal in private correspondence in December 2001 that the money was a legitimate fee paid to Mr Dunlop.

He claimed Mr Dunlop’s suggestion to the contrary was “baseless and emphatically rejected.”