The Dublin North Labour TD, Mr Séan Ryan, said he was aware of "carry on" relating to planning issues while a member of Dublin County Council in the 1980s.
"I was very conscious of the central role played by certain builders and developers in the planning process, especially when section four rezoning motions were on the agenda monthly and during the development plan review," he added.
"The interaction between the landowners, builders and developers and their agents and Fianna Fáil and the majority of Fine Gael councillors was very evident. I was present and witnessed agents for these people drafting rezoning motions and amendments in the packed public gallery and then passing them into the chamber to willing councillors who were prepared to submit the motion in their own names."
Mr Ryan said he witnessed the way the voting was organised to ensure that that as far as practical the timing of the votes was scheduled to suit the rezoning lobby. "If the outcome was uncertain, a runner would be sent to Conway's pub to ensure that any stragglers in the pub were 'whipped' into the chamber to ensure that another rezoning was carried. It would have been very unusual if a celebratory drink or party was not on the agenda for Conway's pub or the Royal Dublin Hotel after the meeting, paid for, of course, by the new millionaires."
Mr Ryan was speaking during a series of statements on the Mahon tribunal report.
The Minister of State for the Environment, Mr Noel Ahern, said the establishment of the tribunal had sent out a very clear message to anyone who had corrupt dealings relating to planning that those matters could no longer be kept secret.
"This message is reinforced by the clear findings in the second and third interim reports of Mr Justice Flood. The Government fully supports this and is providing the tribunal with the resources to continue with work set out in its term of reference so that the matters being investigated by the tribunal can be resolved once and for all."
The Fine Gael spokesman on the environment, Mr Bernard Allen, asked if there were enough checks and balances in political life and for decision-makers specifically.
"Are Ministers who do not give full answers to questions about their decisions sanctioned and exposed? Are people told on what basis the decisions of the day are made, even after five years? Are TDs who cheat on their taxes expelled from their political parties? Is major legislation debated at length to a point where the public are aware of the main points and the Opposition feel that while possibly not agreeing, that they too have had their say?"
Mr Martin Ferris (SF, Kerry North) said that corrupt officials, such as George Redmond, had made large personal fortunes on the back of the misery of ordinary citizens, who continued to suffer to this day from decisions taken in the past.
He added that the legacy of George Redmond and his cohorts was vast estates, lacking in both infrastructure and amenities, which sprawled across the western and northern edges of the city as a result of corruption.
Mr Joe Higgins (Socialist Party, Dublin West) said in the 1980s and 1990s corruption was endemic among some of those who had key roles in the planning of the greater Dublin area.
"Corruption was rife, in particular, at the murky interface where developers dealt behind closed doors with councillors from Fianna Fáil and many from Fine Gael."
Mr Paul Gogarty (Green Party, Dublin Mid-West) said that questions should be asked when local authority officials working hand-in-hand with developers moved into the private sector.
