All former county councillors deny wrongdoing

All former Dublin County councillors accused of receiving payments from Mr Frank Dunlop in return for planning favours in the 1990s have denied any wrongdoing, the tribunal heard yesterday.

Mr John Gallagher SC said the tribunal had written to all the parties or their representatives asking them for their formal response to the allegations.

The former Dublin West TD, Mr Liam Lawlor, also denied any impropriety regarding rezoning.

Senator Don Lydon (FF) insisted he had never received any money from Mr Dunlop "in connection with planning decisions", but conceded that he had received two political contributions.

One of these - a donation of £1,000 before the 1993 Seanad elections - he only remembered when Mr Dunlop phoned him to inform him the tribunal was aware of it.

Mr Seán Gilbride (FF) said he had been given £2,000 before the local council elections in 1991. It was a political donation for which he had signed a receipt, and he "never sought or received" any money in relation to planning decisions.

Solicitors acting for the family of the late Mr Jack Larkin said there was no record of any donations from Mr Dunlop.

The tribunal also heard the politicians all denied any knowledge of bribery or corruption in their responses to a questionnaire circulated by Mr Justice Flood in 1998 to parties against whom allegations had been made.

Mr Cyril Gallagher, a former chairman of Fingal County Council, who is alleged to have received £1,000 from Mr Dunlop, also denied knowledge of payments in his answers, received shortly before his death in 1998.

Mr Lydon, in a hand-written note tagged on to his formal response, apologised for his inability to remember every decision he had taken during his time serving on Dublin County Council.

He painted a bleak picture of the conditions he and his fellow councillors worked in during the early 1990s. With 78 members crammed into a chamber designed for 28, conditions were "totally unsatisfactory" and "oppressive", he said. The chamber was filled with cigarette smoke and there were no canteen facilities.

Many meetings were so tedious that "apathy set in", with certain councillors opting to spend the afternoon in local public houses rather than sit through sessions that could take years to resolve the simplest of issues. Mr Lydon added that many of his colleagues only attended to sign on for their £15 per day expenses. As a result, much council business was "pretty hit-and-miss".