Council ‘was in the pocket of developers’

A FORMER Fianna Fáil councillor claimed at the Mahon planning tribunal yesterday the party whip on Dublin County Council was “in the pocket of developers” during the 1990s.

Paddy Madigan said council meetings were a farce, with councillors hustled in to vote in a rush for rezoning. He alleged there was collusion between party whips to get councillors in to vote at all costs.

“You would have to be Paul O’Connell (the Munster and Ireland second row rugby forward) to get through the scrum of builders and developers outside. It was outrageous.”