Barrett accepts he gave FG inquiry wrong information

A former Fine Gael minister, Mr Sean Barrett, has accepted he gave incorrect information to a party inquiry into payments to politicians.

Mr Barrett told the inquiry in May 2000 he voted against a proposal to rezone the former Baldoyle racecourse, in which the lobbyist Mr Frank Dunlop had a financial interest. He also disclosed two political donations, including an unsolicited #500-to- #1,000 payment from Mr Dunlop.

The inquiry reported that Mr Barrett's opposition to this proposal "reinforced" its view that the donations had not influenced his voting intentions.

In fact, Mr Barrett abstained on a vote that effectively killed off Mr Dunlop's hopes of rezoning the racecourse, it emerged at the tribunal yesterday. He was one of 23 councillors who abstained when Dublin County Council voted to retain the green belt between Baldoyle and Portmarnock in April 1993.

Yesterday Mr Barrett confirmed that the contribution he received from Mr Dunlop in December 1992 was #1,000. He acknowledged this donation, which was not solicited, in a letter to Mr Dunlop in the same month.

Mr Barrett accepted the information he gave the Fine Gael inquiry about his voting record on Baldoyle must have been wrong. He had made a mistake. His memory may not have been absolutely clear, but he knew he hadn't voted for the rezoning.

Explaining his decision to abstain, he said he didn't want to vote against the retention of the green belt. At the same time, he did want to have a discussion on opening up green-belt areas for public use.

Baldoyle racecourse had lain derelict for almost 30 years since it closed in 1972 and generations of children in the area had grown up without any football pitches or recreational facilities, he pointed out.

Mr Barrett, who represented Glencullen ward in south Dublin, said he would not have retained the same level of knowledge about the Baldoyle area as he would for his own locality.

Ms Patricia Dillon SC, for the tribunal, said the number of councillors who abstained on the green-belt vote was "unusually high". One theory was that councillors knew Mr Dunlop had an interest in the racecourse land and wanted to be "as supportive as they could be in the circumstances".

Mr Barrett said the reasons for his abstention had nothing to do with Mr Dunlop. He would never protect any individual's interest at any council meeting.

Asked about his support for the rezoning of Mr Denis Mahony's land at Drumnigh, which the tribunal is currently investigating, the witness said he had always favoured some low-density residential zoning in traditional-type villages. There was "a lot to be said" for mixed development. If he thought local councillors were in favour of a low-density proposal, he would be supportive.

Ms Dillon pointed out that there had been 2,530 objections to the rezoning of Mr Mahony's land in 1993.

Mr Barrett said he had never received such a volume of individual objections; if he had, it would have "set alarm bells ringing". The objections may have taken the form of a petition or "round-robin" submission, he suggested.

A Fianna Fail councillor, Mr Larry Butler, said it was "a coincidence" that he had received a #250 donation from Mr Mahony in May 1993, one week after he had voted to rezone Mr Mahony's land. He said he didn't know the Mr Mahonys involved were "one and the same".

Mr Butler agreed that he abrogated his responsibilities as a councillor once it came to matters outside his Glencullen ward. He said he couldn't recollect any contact with Mr Mahony or Mr Dunlop about the rezoning of the Drumnigh lands.