Mahon Tribunal ends

Ireland’s longest running tribunal which forced the resignation of former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern ended today after 10 years and a cost of €300m.

It could be another 12 months before the findings of the Mahon Tribunal's investigation into planning corruption are published.

Some of the country’s best-known politicians and developers were hauled before the long-running inquiry.

Mr Ahern was its most high-profile witness as barristers painstakingly probed his financial affairs in the early 1990s and allegations he received payments from property developer Owen O'Callaghan.

Stretching over several days between September 2007 and September this year, his evidence caused huge political controversy and sparked massive public interest.

Although he denied any wrongdoing, the tribunal’s revelations and Mr Ahern’s conflicting explanations for irregularities in his personal finances led to his shock resignation in May.

Tribunal chairman, Judge Alan Mahon, will rule on Mr Ahern’s evidence in his final report due next year.

The judge will also decide on the credibility of former lobbyist Frank Dunlop and former developer Tom Gilmartin, who both gave evidence of corruption in Dublin’s planning process.

Mr Ahern has maintained that allegations made by Mr Gilmartin – that he received IR£50,000 in 1989 and IR£30,000 in 1992 from Mr O’Callaghan – were false and malicious.

Mr O’Callaghan has also strenuously denied the claims.

In the run up to last year’s general election, the politician won back public support with an emotional tell-all television interview and detailed statement in the Dáil on his finances during his marriage break-up.

Weeks later Mr Ahern led the Fianna Fáil party into government for a third term – but within 12 months, as the political and public pressure intensified on his financial affairs, Mr Ahern spectacularly quit.

He remains a backbencher and Dublin North TD.

Mr Dunlop, a former broadcaster, was also synonymous with the hearing.

His allegations that he paid thousands of pounds in bribes to Dublin councillors on behalf of developers during the early 1990s caused a storm of controversy.

The ex-government press secretary and PR consultant was one of the inquiry’s longest-running witnesses, taking to the witness box on 124 days over seven years.

During the proceedings he suffered a heart attack, which he believes was caused by the stress of the investigation.

The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments has sat for a total of 916 days.

In November 1997, Mr Justice Feargus Flood was appointed by the government and the Flood Tribunal began to hear evidence in public in January 1999.

Judge Flood resigned from the post in June 2003 and Judge Mahon, who joined the tribunal team a year earlier, was appointed chairman and the inquiry renamed the Mahon Tribunal.

Judge Mahon said over the last six years, 76,000 pages of documents had been circulated and that evidence was heard from more than 400 witnesses, producing more than 60,000 pages in transcripts.

He previously said the total cost of the tribunal could run to €300m.

In closing the hearing, which was held in the grounds of Dublin Castle, Judge Mahon said although it was a daunting, stressful and inconvenient experience for many of the witnesses, the tribunal had only rarely had to use its power of subpoena to compel them to attend.