Cosgrave accepts end to his political career

FORMER Fine Gael TD Liam Cosgrave yesterday accepted his political career was over as a result of allegations of corruption being made against him at the Flood Tribunal.

The son of a former Taoiseach acknowledged that irreparable damage had been done to his reputation arising out of claims he had accepted money from the political lobbyist Frank Dunlop in return for his vote on controversial rezoning motions in Dublin.

Mr Cosgrave’s comments mean he is unlikely to seek a nomination to stand for re-election to Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council at next year’s local elections. His remarks were made at the conclusion of his evidence at the tribunal yesterday after five days in the witness box.

However, Mr Cosgrave stressed he stood over his record as a public representative which began in 1981 when he was elected as a TD for Dun Laoghaire.

He continues to deny Mr Dunlop’s allegations that he received a series of bribes during the 1990s in return for his support of the rezoning of lands at Carrickmines, Co Dublin.

The 46-year-old solicitor could also be facing separate investigations by the Revenue Commissioners and the Law Society after he admitted placing a £1,815 cheque from Mr Dunlop in the account of a dead client to conceal the money from the tax authorities. Mr Cosgrave acknowledged such an action was also in breach of professional regulations for solicitors.

Under cross-examination by Mr Dunlop’s barrister, Colm Allen, the former TD said he believed there may have been some corruption in the planning system in Dublin. In that regard, he accepted Mr Dunlop evidence must have been true. Mr Allen described that Mr Cosgrave as someone “who hadn’t come down in the last shower”. “From the late 1980s, dogs in the street were barking about corruption in the planning system,” observed Mr Allen.

The barrister claimed there was “an air of unreality” about much of Mr Cosgrave’s evidence which he described as “utterly unreliable”.

Mr Allen said it was absolute nonsense for Mr Cosgrave to claim that the reason he went to Mr Dunlop’s offices in 1997 to sign motions was to enable the land rezoning

to be debated at council meetings. He also challenged Mr Cosgrave about conflicting evidence over whether he had discussions with the Fianna Fáil senator Don Lydon about their response to a tribunal questionnaire on payments to politicians. But he denied deliberately concealing one of Mr Dunlop’s payments from a Fine Gael committee established in 2000 to investigate links between the political lobbyist and politicians.

The tribunal heard that Mr Cosgrave had complained about the FG committee’s report to the then-party leader John Bruton for what he claimed was a “whollyunjustified attack on his good name”.

The FG committee lsaid it had been unable to come to any definitive conclusion about monies Mr Cosgrave had received from Mr Dunlop.`