Civil servants were ‘unaware’ of FF donations

CIVIL servants were not aware property developer John Corcoran was making substantial political donations to Fianna Fáil while urging then Environment Minister Padraig Flynn to give special tax concessions to his Dublin shopping centre at Blanchardstown, the Mahon Planning Tribunal heard yesterday.

Officials noted how, over four years from the late 1980s onwards, Mr Corcoran “persistently” made representations to Mr Flynn and other key ministers — including then Taoiseach Charles Haughey — to include Green Property’s 35-acre site in the urban renewal scheme.

An official document, dated June 1991, tersely observed: “Given the current controversy surrounding the development, it is strongly recommended that the site should not be designated.” The tribunal heard the Government never gave Blanchardstown the tax benefit.