Cosgrave says vote was 'never bought'

Flood tribunal: Former Fine Gael senator, Mr Liam Cosgrave, has defended his decision to support two rezonings at Carrickmines in the 1990s against the advice of planners.

Mr Cosgrave said Mr Frank Dunlop lied when he claimed to have paid him £2,000 for his vote on a motion to rezone land owned by Paisley Park in 1992.

"He has invented meetings and so-called bribes. It never happened," he told the tribunal yesterday.

He denied being Mr Dunlop's "lapdog" or that he was compromised in any way by the payments he had received from the lobbyist.

"My vote was never bought," he repeatedly told the tribunal.

A motion to rezone the Paisley Park lands for industrial use was defeated by 24 votes to 26 in June 1992.

The manager told the meeting the lands had poor access and local roads could not take the traffic that would result. Mr Cosgrave supported the motion.

In 1997, Mr Cosgrave seconded a proposal to rezone part of this land and an adjoining property, which was passed by 13 votes to 11.

Yesterday, he conceded he did this knowing the rezoning would significantly increase the cost to Dún Laoghaire/Rathdown county council of acquiring part of the land for the South-Eastern motorway. He said the proposal to rezone the Paisley Park lands made sense in the light of the manager's report in 1990, which suggested a need for industrial development in the Carrickmines area.

"What was good for the manager's report in 1990 was good for 1992," he said.

However, it was subsequently decided that no development should take place to the south-west of the proposed South-Eastern motorway, where Paisley Park was located.

Mr John Gallagher SC, for the tribunal, said Mr Cosgrave had supported a rezoning of land that could not be supported by any road network.

It was clear the manager was opposed and the land had significant drawbacks.

However, the witness said the overall planning for the area had to be taken into account. "If a combine harvester could get up the road it wasn't beyond logic for an articulated truck to be able to get there." But Mr Gallagher said Mr Cosgrave's stance "flew in the teeth" of the council's earlier decision.

Mr Cosgrave said the councillors were entitled to change their minds, as the planners were. The roads could be upgraded.

Mr Cosgrave also denied Mr Dunlop's allegation that he paid the politician £5,000 in 1992 on Newtownpark Avenue as he was going to a funeral.

He wasn't at any funeral on Newtownpark Avenue, he wouldn't have gone to a funeral during an election campaign in a car with a "Vote Cosgrave" box on top and he didn't know the person whose funeral was taking place nearby on that date. Asked why Mr Dunlop would lie about giving him money, Mr Cosgrave suggested he might have tax reasons for doing so. Mr Dunlop had said he had "lost everything".

Mr Cosgrave added: "He must be the first person to lose everything and still be a multi-millionaire." He acknowledged that Mr Dunlop was a close friend, but repeated his denial that he had received money from him in return for his vote. Mr Gallagher suggested that the reason Mr Cosgrave hadn't declared a £2,500 cheque from Mr Dunlop to the Public Office Commission was because he was uneasy or unwilling about having Mr Dunlop shown as a source of funding.

Mr Cosgrave said he wouldn't agree with counsel on that.