Businessman’s long history in quagmire of Dublin planning

NORMAN TURNER is an American businessman and the developer of Europe’s largest entertainment venue the MEN Arena in Manchester.

His name has been bound up in the quagmire of Dublin planning since the early days of the tribunal.

Former Fianna Fáil TD Liam Lawlor told an internal party inquiry in 2000 Mr Turner’s company Sonas offered him a consultancy fee worth in the region of IR£100,000 to help with a Phoenix Park casino proposal.

He said he was invited to a meeting in the Berkley Court Hotel in 1992 by a member of Fianna Fáil who was well known to him.

He never identified this person publicly before his death.

In 1992 Sonas wanted planning permission for the IR£375 million stadium, hotel and casino project on the former Phoenix Park Racecourse.

Sonas won planning permission from An Bord Pleanála on appeal for the plan.

However, the Rainbow Government led by John Bruton refused to relax the gaming laws that would allow the casino to operate.

Mr Lawlor said Sonas was anxious for him — as the TD for the area — to support the project since there was considerable local opposition to the plan in the Castleknock area.

Mr Lawlor told the internal inquiry he rejected the offer.

He said at the time he was totally opposed to gaming machines and previously he had taken part in a campaign to outlaw them.

However, separate to Mr Lawlor’s claims former Fine Gael councillor Tom Morrisey alleged Mr Turner offered to put IR£30,000 into a Cayman Islands bank account because he needed his vote on the project.

He said he was given a piece of paper with the names of two Cayman Islands banks.

Mr Morrissey was an opponent of a project being promoted by Mr Turner’s company, Sonas Centre Ltd.

However, the plan needed the backing of three of four local councillors to secure a material contravention of the development plan.

Mr Morrissey said the offer was made in Dublin city centre in August 1995 at a meeting made at the request of Mr Turner.

In 2000 the former councillor told the Flood Tribunal when he rejected the bribe Mr Turner said he was a foolish man and threw the paper that held the offer in a rubbish bin.