The planning tribunal's report of its investigations into former assistant Dublin city and county manager, George Redmond, is to be published shortly. Paul Cullen reports.
A copy of the report is to be sent today to the Clerk of the Dáil, The Irish Times understands. The report is then likely to be lodged in the library in Leinster House and would become publicly available after the Dáil reconvenes next Tuesday.
The report is expected to be highly critical of the 79-year-old Redmond, who has admitted to receiving massive payments during his career from developers and other business contacts.
Redmond is expected to receive a copy of the report in Cloverhill Prison, where he was sent last month after being sentenced in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to 12 months in jail on corruption charges unrelated to his appearances before the tribunal.
These ongoing criminal proceedings by the Criminal Assets Bureau were the main reason Redmond was not dealt with in the interim report of the tribunal published by Mr Justice Feargus Flood in September 2002.
In his evidence to the tribunal in 1999 and 2000, Redmond admitted to receiving a payment of £25,000 from Mr James Gogarty of Joseph Murphy Structural Engineering. It was Mr Gogarty's evidence in relation to another payment he made, to former Fianna Fáil minister Mr Ray Burke, that led to Mr Justice Flood's finding of corruption in relation to Mr Burke and other leading figures before the tribunal.
Tribunal lawyers have estimated that Redmond accumulated over £1 million in payments over his 48-year career in local government, equivalent to the value of "eight or nine houses". In one year, 1988, his investments were worth £660,000 or almost 35 times his yearly wage.
It found that he operated 33 bank accounts, of which only eight had been declared. Many of these were opened using false or misleading addresses. He opened accounts in the names of Seoirse Ó Réamoinn and Seoirse MacRéamoinn, and used the addresses of a brother-in-law in Belfast, a sister-in-law in Northampton, England, and a cousin in Mijas, Spain.
He also hoarded money; his records for 1984 show he had £35,000 in cash in the bathroom, £12,000 in the kitchen and £8,000 in cheques.
Redmond put his financial success down to the fact that he was a "heavy saver". He expressed regret for what he had done, but denied that he had been bribed.
His biggest benefactor was builder Tom Brennan, from whom he said he got over £250,000 in small payments over 20 years. In Mr Justice Flood's 2002 report, Mr Brennan was found to have made a series of corrupt payments to Mr Burke.
Following a lengthy investigation by CAB officers, Redmond was found guilty last month of receiving £10,000 from garage owner Mr Brendan Fassnidge as a bribe relating to the sale of a right-of-way from Dublin County Council at the Lucan bypass. He faces two further corruption charges, though it is not clear yet whether the DPP intends to proceed with these.
Later this month, he will be brought from prison to give evidence to the tribunal in its investigations into the ownership of Jackson Way's land at Carrickmines in south Dublin.
The tribunal, now chaired by Judge Alan Mahon, is to resume hearings in this module next week.