Gilmartin: Ahern among few I could trust

BUSINESSMAN Tom Gilmartin told the Mahon Tribunal yesterday he had regarded Taoiseach Bertie Ahern as one of the few Fianna Fáil politicians he could trust.

He said he met Mr Ahern on four occasions in 1989 when he was trying to sort out difficulties caused by certain FF politicians as he tried to get his Quarryvale development in west Dublin off the ground.

Mr Gilmartin denied repeatedly offering a £50,000 bribe to Fianna Fáil, pointing out it was not illegal to give a party a donation. However, he conceded he would have paid £500,000 to extricate himself from Quarryvale due to the corruption he experienced in his Irish operation. He alleged Cork-based developer Owen O’Callaghan — his former business partner turned bitter rival — orchestrated the difficulties, before taking over Mr Gilmartin’s Barkhill company and the Quarryvale project. Mr O’Callaghan denies the allegation.