Money-for-votes - Citizens trust Flood to reveal all

THE Flood Tribunal probe into bribery and corruption in politics and planning has already achieved much

Significantly, while other tribunals failed to apportion blame, new standards have been set by Mr Justice Feargus Flood who exposed a history of corrupt payments by developers to disgraced ex-Fianna Fáil Minister Ray Burke.

The ramifications of this investigation go to the heart of widely-held suspicions that politicians have been on the take. Beyond doubt, the planning process has been perverted by unscrupulous developers and by politicians who took bribes.

The gardaí are currently studying the Flood report which is also before the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Because of the uncompromising nature of the interim Flood report’s conclusions, the public gaze is focused keenly on the latest chapter of re-zoning scandals in County Dublin.

Thanks to the no-nonsense findings of the best-selling document, law-abiding citizens can rest assured Justice Flood will name and shame any politician who knowingly entered the web of subterfuge spun by the lobbyist and bagman Frank Dunlop.

It is over two-and-a-half years since the former Government press secretary stunned the nation with revealing accounts of corruption in local government.

What began as an exercise in obfuscation by the PR man ended in a seemingly unstoppable torrent of allegations after he had been warned by the Judge to consider his future.

For the first time, a shocked public heard allegations of bribery amid Dunlop’s claims he paid councillors from a “war chest” on behalf of property developers in return for crucial votes on land rezoning.

As soon as yesterday’s hearings began the scene was set for further drama when Mr Dunlop’s credibility was questioned by lawyers representing ex-TD and Fine Gael councillor Liam Cosgrave. Mr Cosgrave described the former Government press secretary as a self-confessed perjurer.

However, the lawyers were refused access to parts of statements by Mr Dunlop who alleges he gave at least three payments to Councillor Cosgrave on the understanding that he would assist with the re-zoning of land. Mr Cosgrave denies there was any such understanding.

The public’s appetite for new information about the nefarious activities of politicians and developers has been sharpened as these are the first public hearings in over a year. Attention will focus on allegations that £20,000 was paid to various county councillors in return for their votes on rezoning motions relating to the Jackson Way lands at Carrickmines in South County Dublin.

Questions remain over the ownership of the land and particularly about the roles of gaming arcade owner Jim Kennedy and solicitor John Caldwell whose names have been linked with the property.

We can expect Mr Dunlop to reveal which councillors received money, how much they got, and why they were on the take. Though politicians acknowledge receiving payments, they insist they were legitimate political contributions.

Based on the Tribunal’s unflinching approach to thorny issues, the public can have every confidence in the ability of Mr Justice Flood to sift fact from fiction and bring out the truth of this murky affair.