Mahon Tribunal ‘will not proceed with inquiries’

THE Mahon Tribunal has agreed not to proceed, pending the hearing of a legal appeal next month, with further inquiries into allegations made against Cork property developer Owen O’Callaghan by developer Tom Gilmartin.

The Supreme Court will hear on January 23 next Mr O’Callaghan’s appeal against the High Court’s refusal last October to prevent the Mahon Tribunal carrying out those further inquiries in its Quarryvale Two module.

The tribunal yesterday agreed not to carry out those inquiries until that appeal has been heard by the court.

However, if Mr O’Callaghan wants a further stay on those inquiries pending the court’s judgment on the appeal, which is expected to be reserved, then he will have to apply for such a stay at the close of the appeal hearing, the Supreme Court decided yesterday.

In October last, Mr Justice Thomas Smyth dismissed on all grounds the challenge brought by Mr O’Callaghan; Mr John Deane, a solicitor and a partner in O’Callaghan Properties; Riga Ltd, of Lavitt’s Quay, Cork and Barkhill Ltd, the company which developed the Liffey Valley shopping centre in Dublin.

Mr O’Callaghan had claimed Mr Gilmartin has made “entirely untrue” allegations in private to the tribunal, including claims that Mr O’Callaghan had made offshore payments to senior politicians.

He claimed that those allegations were never mentioned in evidence by Mr Gilmartin at the tribunal’s public sessions and that they were concealed by the tribunal.

He claimed the tribunal was biased towards him and in favour of Mr Gilmartin in relation to its treatment of Mr Gilmartin’s evidence in the Quarryvale One module.

Mr Justice Smyth rejected all of those claims. He also awarded costs of the High Court action, estimated at some €2 million, against Mr O’Callaghan.

Some 85 witnesses are involved in the Quarryvale Two module, which began on November 29, 2005, with an opening statement which outlined allegations against several witnesses to the module.