Michael Clifford: Developers are not and never were the  custodians of common good

Will politicians ever grasp that long painful experience has shown this is simply not the case

George Redmond, former assistant Dublin City Manager, leaving the Planning Tribunal in Dublin Castle in 2000, where he continued giving evidence about the payments he received while working for Dublin Corporation. While the days of brown envelopes and major political donations are in the past, there still seems to be a propensity in local authorities to rezone and be damned. Pic. Paul Sharp/Photocall Ireland

Sometimes, in the wee, small hours, I awake with a jolt and sit up ramrod straight in the bed. The recurring nightmare has just recurred. I’m hiding under a desk. The scene is a cavernous, low-ceilinged building in the bowels of a castle. A corpulent figure rises to his feet through the dim light. He looks down at his ammunition, raises his eyes, and focuses on the target.

“Mr Redmond, is it not the case…” he booms. A reedy individual enclosed in a box that rises to waist height looks out with the air of a disinterested goose. Cowering under the desk nearby, my hands press hard against my ears. No more, please, no more. I’ll do anything to make it stop.