Senior FF figures to give evidence during EU Presidency and run-up to elections
Paul Cullen
The Taoiseach and other senior Fianna Fáil figures are facing the prospect of tribunal appearances during Ireland's EU Presidency and in the run-up to the local and European elections.
The Mahon tribunal plans to begin the long-awaited hearings into the controversial allegations by property developer Mr Tom Gilmartin this spring, The Irish Times understands.
It will then, possibly as early as June, start separate hearings into allegations by former lobbyist Mr Frank Dunlop of corrupt payments to councillors in connection with the rezoning of Quarryvale in west Dublin in the early 1990s.
Local and European elections are scheduled for mid-June, and a presidential election may be held in the autumn. Although the tribunal would not sit during an election campaign, the political fallout from any evidence given by Mr Gilmartin or Mr Dunlop this year would nevertheless be immense.
Mr Gilmartin will tell the tribunal he gave a £50,000 cheque to a later-to-be EU Commissioner, Mr Pádraig Flynn, in 1989, which he believed would be passed on to Fianna Fáil. The party says it never got the money. Mr Flynn, who was minister for environment at the time, has refused to confirm or deny whether he got the cheque, but says he will give a full explanation before the tribunal.
Mr Gilmartin will also recount the extensive contact he had with Fianna Fáil ministers at this time, when he was lobbying politicians to give the go-ahead to his plans for multi-million shopping developments in Dublin at Bachelor's Walk and Quarryvale.
Although he faces no specific allegation, it is likely the Taoiseach will be called to give evidence. Mr Gilmartin claims he met Mr Ahern, who was minister for finance, four times about his plans, and told him he had paid £50,000 to Mr Flynn.
Mr Ahern originally said he could only remember one meeting and had no recollection about a payment to Mr Flynn. Later checking of diary and Dáil records appears to show there were three meetings.
On one occasion in 1989, Mr Gilmartin says he met the then Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey; Mr Ahern; Mr Flynn; and ministers Mr Ray Burke, Mr Séamus Brennan and Mr Brian Lenihan in Leinster House. After the meeting, he claims he was approached by a man in the corridor and asked to deposit £5 million in an Isle of Man bank account. He didn't pay the money, and says his projects then started to go awry.
The people who were demanding money from Mr Gilmartin "make the so-and-so Mafia look like monks," the developer told a libel trial in 2001.
Mr Gilmartin claims he paid former Fianna Fáil TD Mr Liam Lawlor over £100,000 for the latter's involvement in his projects. His evidence will also implicate convicted former official George Redmond, who is alleged to have tipped off a rival developer about Mr Gilmartin's plans for Quarryvale.
The exact starting date of his evidence will depend on how soon the tribunal completes its investigations into the rezoning of land owned by Jackson Way in Carrickmines. Hearings aimed at establishing the exact ownership of the English-registered company are scheduled to begin next week.
Among the 19 witnesses who will give evidence in this module of the tribunal is Mr Redmond, who will be brought from prison to appear in the witness box in Dublin Castle. He was jailed for 12 months last month on corruption charges.
Mr Lawlor and the presumed owners of Jackson Way, Mr John Caldwell and Mr Jim Kennedy, have also been called to give evidence. However, Mr Kennedy, who has a house in the Isle of Man, is not expected to appear, having told the tribunal last year he had no intention of co-operating.