Solicitor admits being evasive over land

A SOLICITOR admitted yesterday that he had failed to respond to direct questions about the ownership of lands at the centre of planning corruption allegations when initially asked by the Planning Tribunal three years ago.

John Caldwell acknowledged that he had tried to suggest to the tribunal's legal team, in a letter written in September 2000, that he had no beneficial interest in lands at Carrickmines in south Dublin.

Asked about companies which nominally owned the property, Mr Caldwell merely said "the land is held to my order".