Lawyers could not get their heads around corruption claims, says Gilmartin

FORMER property developer Tom Gilmartin told the Mahon Planning Tribunal yesterday how lawyers had difficulty “getting their heads round” his allegations of corruption in the planning process.

“At times they were looking at me with disbelief,” he told Paul Sreenan SC, for developer Owen O’Callaghan, his former business partner whom Mr Gilmartin alleges funded a corruption ring.

Mr Gilmartin also claims Fianna Fáil councillor Finbar Hanrahan from Lucan in west-Dublin demanded £100,000 in cash — with £50,000 up front — to support the Quarryvale development being proposed by the Sligo-born, Luton-based businessman.

According to Mr Gilmartin, this demand was made in Dublin’s Buswell’s Hotel in December 1988 at a meeting that included Mr O’Callaghan, his business associate John Deane and the late TD Liam Lawlor.

“I had no intention of making any such payment to Mr Hanrahan and I got up and left,” said Mr Gilmartin. “On my way out Mr O’Callaghan said to me: ‘Did he tap you?’”

Mr Gilmartin said the comment strongly suggested to him that both Mr Lawlor and Mr O’Callaghan must have been aware that Mr Hanrahan would be seeking money from witness to support the rezoning.

Questioned why some important details were not in his statement, including Mr Hanrahan’s alleged demand for £100,000, Mr Gilmartin said his statement would have run to 200 or 300 pages if all he said was recorded.

Mr Sreenan commented: “It’s in the details that falsities are detected.”

But Mr Gilmartin said Mr Hanrahan’s demand was one of many by politicians and he could not understand why a song and dance was being made of this when Mr Lawlor, George Redmond and others were demanding money.