The Flood tribunal is back after a year's break, but the real fireworks are a few weeks away yet, writes Paul Cullen
There can't be many keys lower than the note struck yesterday by the Flood tribunal at its first day of public investigation in 13 months.
In place of the dramatic revelations awaited by a large attendance of media and general public, there was a lengthy and technical presentation on the history and organisation of planning and local government in Dublin.
In place of the expected focus on politicians, those present were regaled with long lists of local-authority personnel, lengthy extracts from 10-year-old speeches and an outline of the structure of local government in the capital.
The opening statement by Mr John Gallagher SC, for the tribunal, was certainly painted on a broad canvas.
His presentation emphasised the complexity of the planning system and the numerous and unsuccessful attempts to investigate corruption in the past. Such is the yardstick by which this tribunal will be judged.
Time ran out before Mr Gallagher could get to the juicy bits of his statement, which is expected to continue for several days. However there was sufficient indication that the tribunal's investigation will be the most comprehensive yet undertaken - even by its own standards - with no fewer than 30 separate matters coming under examination.
The lobbyist Mr Frank Dunlop, who has told the tribunal he paid off dozens of politicians, is the catalyst for many of these investigations.
However, it is equally clear that some of the matters the tribunal will investigate do not involve Mr Dunlop, as they related to payments made directly to politicians by landowners and developers.
It would appear that all the matters now coming under investigation relate to events occurring in the greater Dublin area; the tribunal may choose to investigate allegations concerning local authorities outside Dublin at a later stage.
The flavour of what may emerge in the coming days trickled out in exchanges between the lawyers before Mr Gallagher started reading his statement. Lawyers for the former Fine Gael senator Cllr Liam Cosgrave tried unsuccessfully to gain access to all the information Mr Dunlop has given to the tribunal.
Something of Mr Dunlop's version of his relationship with councillors emerged during submissions.
Mr Dunlop claims he had an "understanding" with Mr Cosgrave which involved the payment of £8,000 in three payments during the 1990s. The money was designed to assist in the rezoning of land.
Lawyers for Mr Cosgrave emphasised a theme which will doubtless become familiar as more and more politicians feel the lash of Mr Dunlop's allegations - that of his credibility.
They referred to his initial reluctance to co-operate with the tribunal or to submit a statement and, at one point, they described him as a "self-confessed perjurer".
It is now five years since the tribunal was set up, but there is no indication it will proceed any faster now that three other judges are sitting alongside Mr Justice Flood.
After Mr Gallagher finishes his opening statement, probably by Friday, most of the next two weeks will be taken up with evidence from local authority witnesses. Some of this may turn out to be the technical and turgid evidence Mr Gallagher warned us about yesterday.
The real fireworks will begin when Mr Dunlop enters the box in early December. He is then scheduled to be followed by the businessman who first bought the lands currently under investigation, Mr Jim Kennedy, and his wife Antoinette.
The reclusive Mr Kennedy, who has addresses in the Isle of Man and, apparently, in Gibraltar, is a long-time associate of former Fianna Fáil TD Mr Liam Lawlor, and the former assistant Dublin county manager, Mr George Redmond.
His attitude towards the tribunal is at this stage unclear; he will confound many observers if he does indeed appear in Dublin Castle just before Christmas.