Former finance director denies bribery claims

A FORMER finance director of Monarch Properties development company strongly denied at the Mahon Planning Tribunal yesterday that mystery cash payments went to bribe county councillors.

“We were never paying bribes to councillors,” declared Dominick Glennane when tribunal lawyer Patricia Dillon SC put it to him that bribing councillors could help to explain the absence of supporting invoices.

Documents were shown to the tribunal relating to a series of unexplained cash payments amounting to £160,000.

Paid out by Monarch between 1991 and 1996, these were attributed to “general promotion” connected with the company’s Cherrywood housing project in south Dublin.

Throughout his evidence, Mr Glennane offered the opinion that the unexplained funds went to the late Philip Monahan, who founded the Monarch group. Ms Dillon pointed out the company auditors had noted there was no independent back-up documentation for these funds.

Mr Glennane said Mr Monahan was in the habit of buying old cars and antique furniture and liked to carry £5,000 or £6,000 around with him.

Ms Dillon said it was “pure speculation” on Mr Glennane’s part to suggest these funds were used to buy cars or antiques.