Cosgrave faces corrupt payment charges
The charges against the 54-year-old were heard during a brief appearance at the Dublin District Court, after which he was remanded on bail until his next appearance before the court tomorrow.
Garda Martin Harrington of the Criminal Assets Bureau said that when the charges were put to Cosgrave at 1.30pm yesterday, he replied “not guilty”.
The son of former taoiseach Liam Cosgrave is the fifth politician to be charged in connection with the bribery investigation in the past week. Last Friday, four former Dublin County Councillors — Don Lydon, Seán Gilbride, Tony Fox and Colm McGrath — all pleaded not guilty to charges relating to planning corruption linked to the rezoning of lands in Carrickmines, Co Dublin, during the 1990s.
Jim Kennedy, a tax exile and owner of an amusement arcade in Dublin, is also charged with 16 counts of paying bribes to politicians in return for their support to rezone lands owned by his company, Jackson Way Properties, at Carrickmines.
Cosgrave, of 103 Merrion Park, Blackrock, Co Dublin, faces five charges.
The first was that, as an office holder or a director of Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council, he received money as an inducement to vote in favour of a motion that the council rezone almost 37 acres of land at E Industrial in Carrickmines.
The charges allege that between June 12 and June 29, 1992, he received money to vote in Dublin County Council in favour of the local authority rezoning for development a 108-acre plot.
He is also accused of receiving money on December 23, 1997, to vote for the zoning of 88 acres of land in Carrickmines, and also of receiving a payment on October 30 that year, again for voting in favour of rezoning the 88 acres.
He is also accused of receiving a payment on December 23, 1997, for agreeing to vote in favour of rezoning 36.85 acres of land at Carrickmines.
Cosgrave was bailed on his own bond of €200.
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