Mahon to face Lawlor on first day

NEW planning tribunal chairman Judge Alan Mahon will face his predecessor’s arch-nemesis Liam Lawlor on his first day in the top job next week.

Yesterday the Taoiseach robustly defended himself against accusations that he misled the Daíl over the details of Justice Feargus Flood’s resignation.

The Flood Tribunal will hold its first public sittings since Justice Flood’s resignation next Tuesday, with Judge Mahon moving up from ordinary member to chairman.

Mr Lawlor, the disgraced former Fianna Fáil TD who has already spent six weeks in jail for non-disclosure of documents, is up before the tribunal again on the issue of discovery.

Judge Mahon’s baptism of fire as chairman continues on Wednesday as hearings on the complex Carrickmines issue resume.

Under fire from the opposition yesterday, Mr Ahern said he was just 10 minutes away last Thursday from confirming Justice Flood would stay on as chairman for another two years to deal with the costs issue but the judge changed his mind.

The Taoiseach said he resented the accusation he was misleading the Dáil by not giving details available to the Government back in May of Justice Flood’s pending resignation.

The matter was brought to the attention of the Dáil as soon as the legal issues were discussed by the Cabinet last week.

“In all the aspects of the tribunals with which I have dealt, I have always been absolutely up front with the House,” he said.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny said the Taoiseach only had himself to blame for the criticism. Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said Minister for Environment Martin Cullen had told his party’s environment spokesman Eamon Gilmore in mid-June that there were no plans to change the tribunal when he must have known of Justice Flood’s intention to resign.

In response, a spokesman for Mr Cullen said Mr Gilmore’s question was about changing the terms of reference of the probe and there was no plan to do this.

Last night, the Taoiseach’s officials released a five-page document of questions and answers on the handling of correspondence between the Government and the tribunal regarding Justice Flood’s resignation.