Arthur Beesley,
Political Reporter
The report of the planning tribunal into the activities of George Redmond may not be published immediately due to outstanding criminal proceedings against the former assistant Dublin city and county manger, it emerged last night.
A copy of the tribunal's third interim report, which deals with Redmond (79), was submitted last evening to the Clerk of the Dáil, Mr Kieran Coughlan.
While it was expected that the report would be made public this week by being lodged in the Dáil library, Mr Coughlan is examining it to see whether he should seek a High Court direction on publication.
A spokesperson for the Houses of the Oireachtas said last night that Mr Coughlan was considering the report in the light of the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence, Amendment) Act of 2002, which says that he may seek such a direction if he "considers that the publication of the report might prejudice any criminal proceedings".
Redmond is serving a 12-month sentence for corruption in Cloverhill Prison in a case unrelated to his appearances before the tribunal.
He faces two further charges in relation to the compulsory purchase by Dublin council of land at Buzzardstown and Coolmine in the 1980s. Files on these cases are under consideration by the Director of Public Prosecutions, who must decide whether to proceed with charges.
The third interim report, which relates to hearings that came before Mr Justice Flood, is expected to be highly critical of Redmond, who has admitted to receiving massive payments during his career from developers and other business contacts. Redmond admitted in evidence before the judge that he received a payment of £25,000 (€31,750) from Mr James Gogarty of Joseph Murphy Structural Engineering.
Mr Gogarty's evidence in relation to a separate payment to the former Fianna Fáil minister Mr Ray Burke led to Mr Justice Flood's finding of corruption in relation to Mr Burke and other leading figures before the tribunal.
Redmond's biggest benefactor was the builder Tom Brennan, from whom he said he got over £250,000 (€317,500) in small payments over 20 years.
Mr Brennan was found in Mr Justice Flood's 2002 interim report to have made a series of corrupt payments to Mr Burke.
Lawyers acting for the tribunal have estimated that Redmond accumulated over £1 million (€1.27 million) in payments over his 48-year career in local government, equivalent to the value of "eight or nine houses". His investments in 1988 were worth £660,000 (€838,200), almost 35 times his yearly wage.