Three civil servants and a law agent have received suspended prison terms and a collective fine of €50,000 for corruption in relation to copies of Land Registry Office file plans and maps.
Liam Rainsford (43), Cremore Heights, Glasnevin; Michael Byrne (51), Parkwood Road, Old Bawn, and Alan Quinn (48), Broadmeadows, Swords, all accepted payment from Dooley's Law Agents Ltd, for speeding up the process by which the company received documents from the Registry.
Gerard Dooley (50), Crannagh Park, Rathfarnham, of Dooley's Law Agents Ltd, admitted that he corruptly gave cheques to Rainsford, Quinn and Byrne between December 19th, 2000, and September 1st, 2003.
Rainsford pleaded guilty to corruptly receiving four cheques, drawn on Dooley's account, as a reward for the supply of copy folios and/or file plans in relation to the affairs or business of the Land Registry between November 16th, 2001, and May 30th, 2003. Byrne pleaded guilty to the same charge and also to "making a false instrument" in relation to a land registry document between September 9th, 2002 and June 30th, 2003.
Quinn also admitted to corruptly accepting four cheques drawn on Dooley's account as a reward for fixing certificates to maps in relation to the affairs or business of the Land Registry.
Judge Katherine Delahunt at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court imposed a one-year sentence each on Rainsford, Quinn and Dooley, which she suspended, and fined them €20,000, €10,000 and €20,000 respectively. She gave Byrne a six-month sentence which she also suspended.
She also remanded them on continuing bail to July after she ordered probation reports to see if they were suitable for community service.
The Land Registry was at a loss of €15,000 after Rainsford was paid €15.50 rather than the €25 registry fee each time he provided Dooley's with copies of folios and file plans. Rainsford received €12,508, almost €100 a week, over 30 months for this service.
Byrne was paid €300 after he photocopied legitimate copies of documents and signed another staff member's name to the document. He again speeded up the process for Dooley's by pushing it up the queue.
Quinn received €2,400 after he also organised for the attachment of certificates to maps at a quicker rate than normal and also pushed Dooley's requests further up the queue.
Judge Delahunt accepted that Rainsford, Byrne and Quinn were doing a job that they were already paid to do, but they were accepting funds from Dooley for working at a quicker pace, while Dooley's part in the operation increased his profits and turnover of work to the detriment of his competitors.