Dunlop claims could be fabricated memories, says senator

THE Fianna Fáil senator and psychologist Don Lydon told the Flood Tribunal that Frank Dunlop displayed characteristics similar to people he saw as patients.

Senator Lydon said Mr Dunlop's allegations about bribing politicians could be the result of fabricated memories which he convinced himself were true.

He denied Mr Dunlop's claim that he took a £3,000 bribe for supporting the rezoning of lands owned by a client of the lobbyist or that he met Mr Dunlop twice to discuss such a payment.

But the senator and county councillor, who heads the Department of Psychology at St John of God's Hospital in Stillorgan, Co Dublin, refused to call Mr Dunlop a liar and said it was possible he believed what he said although it was false.

"I deal with cases of sexual abuse and what happens in those cases is that a person creates scenarios and fits memories into those scenarios," Mr Lydon said.

"Dunlop is a very narcissistic man and he might not be able to tolerate being caught out. He may have created scenarios and constructed memories, and memories get to be believed," he said.

Mr Dunlop claims he met Mr Lydon twice at St John of God's in relation to a bribe once on Friday, May 1, 1992 when the senator allegedly asked for £5,000 and again on Monday, May 4, 1992 when he paid him the smaller amount of £3,000.

Mr Lydon said neither of these meetings was possible as he was giving a talk on "europhobia" at a conference in Dun Laoghaire on the Friday and had a series of engagements outside the hospital on the Monday.

Mr Lydon rejected a suggestion he could have left slipped away from the Friday conference to meet Mr Dunlop as the hospital was only 15-17 minutes drive away.

Mr Lydon co-signed the motion Mr Dunlop sought shortly before or on the day the lobbyist claimed he paid the bribe but he could not say exactly when or where this happened.

He defended his backing of the motion, which was for the industrial zoning of 108 acres of Paisley Park (now Jackson Way) lands at Carrickmines in south County Dublin, despite the opposition of council planners, the county manager and local residents.

"It was a good proposal," he said. "It was very happy to do it and I would do it again today." The motion was subsequently defeated by 26 votes to 24 at a council meeting in June 12, 1992.

The tribunal also heard Mr Lydon failed to disclose two of his biggest political donations to a Fianna Fáil committee in 2000. He said he did not mention two £5,000 cheques was because he was only asked about money involving Frank Dunlop, Paisley Park and two other proposals at Cherrywood and Quarryvale, none of which had any connection with those donations.