Man tells court he gave £10,000 to Redmond

A businessman has told a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court corruption trial jury that he gave £10,000 in a brown envelope to the former Assistant City and County Manager, Mr George Redmond, but said Mr Redmond didn't ask him for it.

"I enticed him by saying I would look after him very well", Mr Brendan Fassnidge said in reply to prosecuting counsel, Mr Patrick J McCarthy SC (with Mr Patrick McGrath BL).

Mr Fassnidge said Mr Redmond's response was "negative" at the time but he would say he took the money "because he got what he wanted".

Mr Fassnidge added that three days later he collected the planning permission he required for a petrol station on the Lucan bypass at the then Dublin County Council's office in O'Connell St.

He said he needed a strip of land for a right-of-way onto the Lucan by-pass and couldn't get the planning permission without having access to the bypass.

He had been accompanied by former T.D Mr Liam Lawlor to discuss the price of it with a valuation officer who indicated it would cost £30,000. He thought that was "a very big consideration" for it but he got his planning permission after giving Mr Redmond the £10,000.

He remembered Mr Redmond drank a glass of wine before leaving with the brown envelope in which his bank had given him the money earlier that day.

Mr Fassnidge said he knew no other way to get the planning permission he needed and had no contact with Mr Redmond after that.

"I know I parted with £10,000 and I have no way of knowing what happened to it", he added.

Mr Redmond (aged 78) has pleaded not guilty to two charges of corruption. The first charge alleges that Mr Redmond, while an agent or servant of the Council of the County of Dublin, a public body, corruptly received a gift of money from Mr Brendan Fassnidge on a date unknown between June 1, 1987 and May 31, 1988 as an inducement or reward for doing or forbearing to do anything in respect of the sale of a right of way at Palmerstown, Co Dublin by the County of Dublin.

The second charge alleges that as an agent he corruptly accepted for himself a gift of money as an inducement or reward for showing favour to another, namely Brendan Fassnidge, in relation to the said principal's affairs, namely the sale of the right of way.

Mr Fassnidge who agreed with defence counsel, Mr Brendan Grehan SC (with Mr Angus Buttansahw BL), in cross-examination, that he had "a colourful history" said he had sold a car in 1973 to Mr Lawlor and had no contact with him again until the visit to the valuation officer.

He told Mr Grehan he was unaware that Mr Lawlor had proposed a section 4 application at the County Council which resulted in planning permission for the Palmerstown site.

Mr Grehan suggested to Mr Fassnidge there would be prosecution evidence that he (witness) paid in person a cheque for £10,000 to the council in October 1988 for the right of way.

Mr Fassnidge agreed with Mr Grehan that in the 1987-88 period, business matters were at a low ebb for him. He had built a showroom costing £760,000 for Mercedes, VW and Audi cars in 1984 and personally guaranteed loans of £500,000.

It was the third largest in Ireland at the time with 29 staff but the recession then set in and he lost everything when it closed a year later. He denied Mr Grehan's suggestion that he had planning difficulties with the local authorities.

Mr Fassnidge agreed with Mr Grehan that he was involved with a developer called Mr Bill Riordan who negotiated the site for him on which the Esso service station was built.

He agreed he "fronted" for Mr Riordan in seeking the planning permission. The developer knew he was "well got" and "had confidence that I would get the planning permission". He couldn't say why Mr Riordan "had these vibes" about his ability to get the planning permission.

Mr Fassnidge said he paid £250,000 to Mr Riordan for the site in 1987 or 1988 and he got this money as a loan from Esso. Mr Riordan dealt with architects and legal matters in this matter.

Mr Fassnidge said in further reply that it must have been Mr Riordan who contacted Mr Lawlor in connection with the section 4 motion which Mr Grehan said was before the council in September 1987. He had no contact with Mr Lawlor about it.

Judge Michael White read to the jury panel, before the jury of six men and six women were sworn in, a long list of potential prosecution witnesses which included former Mr Lawlor and retired Dublin City Manager Mr Frank Feely.

Judge White told the jury that they might have heard or read media coverage surrounding Mr Redmond but that like all accused persons he was presumed innocent before the court.

He said if any of them felt they could not approach the case with an open mind they should tell him before being sworn in. The trial is scheduled to continue for up to three weeks.

The hearing continues.