The Government faces further embarrassment next week when the lobbyist Mr Frank Dunlop returns to the Mahon tribunal with fresh allegations of political corruption, writes Paul Cullen
Mr Dunlop is expected to tell the tribunal he was paid £12,000 in cash by a landowner and well-known car dealer in north Dublin, Mr Denis Mahony, to lobby for the rezoning of Mr Mahony's lands at Drumnigh, near Portmarnock in north Dublin, in 1993.
Mr Dunlop claims part of this money was used to bribe at least three Dublin county councillors, including Fianna Fáil TD Mr G.V. Wright, with sums of up to £2,000. Mr Wright is currently facing drink-driving charges in relation to an accident in which he knocked down a pedestrian last September. Mr Wright, who denies the allegation, was unavailable for comment last night.
Mr Mahony (75) acknowledges paying the money as a professional fee to Mr Dunlop, but has emphatically denied any knowledge about payments to politicians. He is expected to say he engaged Mr Dunlop because he did not know any councillors personally. Attempts to contact him at his home in Malahide last night were unsuccessful.
Councillors ignored planners' advice and 2,530 objections from local residents to rezone the 30 acres at Drumnigh for 12 houses in 1993. The land was subsequently put up for sale for €15 million and developed with luxury homes costing up to €1.85 million each.
The module will also examine an attempt to rezone an adjoining landholding owned by Mr Noel Fox (63), an accountant and former adviser to Mr Ben Dunne. This was withdrawn before coming to a vote.
Mr Dunlop begins his evidence in the so-called "Mahony and Fox" module on Tuesday. He will be followed into the witness-box by politicians from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Progressive Democrats, as well as Mr Fox, Mr Mahony's son John and council officials.