A FINE Gael TD said of the massive Dunnes Stores-linked shopping development proposed for Mullingar that he felt the county council "did not need to give the richest family in the country additional money".
Mr Paul McGrath, TD for Westmeath, said that if the scheme was granted designated urban renewal status the benefits to Dunnes Stores would be between Pounds 4.5 and Pounds 5 million and the arrival of the supermarket chain would result in the distortion of the local retail trade.
He stressed that he was completely in favour of designated status being given to Mullingar but that he felt local retailers should be given priority.
Another Fine Gael TD, Mr Phil Hogan, meanwhile described how the developer, Mr Derry McPhillips, had complained to him about the opposition of Fine Gael councillors to the proposed scheme.
He telephoned Mr Michael Lowry, the then Fine Gael party chairman, and Mr Lowry agreed to speak to the developer about his grievances.
Mr McGrath told the tribunal planning permission for the shopping centre development in Mullingar was first given in 1991, before he joined the council.
Fine Gael members of the council had not opposed the development at any stage and this needed to be made very clear, he said. Controversy had arisen only in relation to whether the project should receive designated status.
Planning permission had originally been sought in 1986 for a much larger scheme at the site in Harbour Place, but this had been turned down.
In 1990 the developer re-applied and secured permission for a smaller development containing one anchor tenant and 25 smaller outlets. This was going to be the biggest single provincial shopping store in the country, said Mr McGrath.
"I think it was quite obvious all the time that the anchor tenant may well be Dunnes Stores. There appeared to be ongoing negotiations concerning that," he said.
Mr Michael Collins SC, for the tribunal, asked Mr McGrath how it would have facilitated the development if designated status had been awarded to the development. Mr McGrath said the substantial benefits of designated status would have been double rent relief, remission of rates and capital cost write-off.
At that time, Mullingar did not have designated status and local people and representatives felt they had been "left out for a number of years", he said. Mr McGrath was in favour of it being given designated status, which was eventually awarded in the 1994 budget. The designation would cover an area of 10 acres.
During discussions between local councillors over potential sites, a number of areas were suggested, including the Dunnes Stores-linked Deerland proposal.
However, Mr McGrath was opposed to this proposed scheme being granted designated status on a number of grounds.
Mullingar would have had between five and seven strong family grocery outlets which had been built up successfully over the years, one of which had gone on to employ more than 100 people, said Mr McGrath.
"I felt that the granting of designated status to a major player like Dunnes Stores would distort the retail trade in Mullingar," he said.
He also felt that the Harbour Place site was not a derelict area and that it was a greenfield site with planning permission. Designated status was intended to assist in the development of derelict sites and this site did not meet this criterion.
Mr McGrath said: "If we had additional taxpayers' money to expend, that we should use it in the best possible manner. I had calculated that the benefits accruing to Dunnes Stores by the granting of designated status to this particular site would amount to in the region of Pounds 4.5, Pounds 5 million. And I felt that we did not need to give the richest family in the country additional money.
Also giving evidence, the Fine Gael party chairman, Mr Phil Hogan TD, said Mr Lowry's solicitors had requested that he appear at the tribunal.
He described how a property developer from his constituency had complained strongly to him about the opposition of Fine Gael councillors in Westmeath to the proposed development in Mullingar.
Mr Hogan had arranged for the developer to speak to Mr Michael Lowry as he was the party chairman at the time and not because of his connection with Dunnes Stores. He had not been made aware of the supermarket chain's involvement in the Mullingar shopping centre project, he said.
Asked by Mr Kevin Feeney SC, for Fine Gael, if he was aware that Mr Ben Dunne had given donations to the party, he said he was not.
Mr McPhillips of Deerland Construction Ltd approached him in Kilkenny city between April and May 1994 and was angry about difficulties he was having with Fine Gael councillors in relation to his company's proposed shopping centre at Harbour Place.
Mr McPhillips was a constituent of Mr Hogan's who lived within a mile of him. The two men had met only occasionally and he had approached Mr Hogan in his capacity as a public representative.
During a brief conversation at a Kilkenny city hotel where Mr Hogan held his clinics, Mr McPhillips complained about the opposition of Fine Gael councillors in Westmeath to his proposed development and asked to lodge a protest with the party.
The name of the Fine Gael TD and councillor Mr Paul McGrath was mentioned during this meeting, but Mr McPhillips did not go into the details of the proposed development or into the nature of the opposition of Fine Gael members.
Mr Michael Collins, for the tribunal, asked Mr Hogan what advice he gave following this complaint.
Mr Hogan replied: "I suggested to him that he, if he wished, and if he was so upset about it, that he should contact the chairman of the party and . . I would facilitate that contact if he wished."
Mr Hogan made contact with Mr Lowry and asked if he would take a telephone call from one of his constituents in Westmeath and he said he would. He then gave the developer Mr Lowry's phone numbers.