£20,000 ‘PR’ cheque was for political donation

PROPERTY boss Brendan Hickey admitted to the Mahon Planning Tribunal yesterday he wrote a £20,000 cheque purporting to be for professional public relations services knowing it was for donations to politicians.

Tribunal lawyer Des O’Neill suggested it could not have been a proper payment in any circumstances if he was paying a cheque for services that were not provided for him.

Mr Hickey, managing director of Davy Hickey Properties (DHP) since July 1990, insisted there was no intention to disguise the political payments.