Flood tribunal hears Dunlop paid FG man £8,000 in 1990s

The Flood Tribunal heard this morning that lobbyist Mr Frank Dunlop alleges he made three separate payments, totaling £8,000, to Fine Gael Senator Mr Liam Cosgrave in the 1990s.

The allegations surfaced during an application by lawyers for the former Fine Gael TD for full disclosure of all documents relating to Mr Dunlop's evidence to the tribunal, whether they concern Mr Dunlop or not.

The application for discovery was rejected by Mr Justice Flood.

In his statement to the tribunal Mr Dunlop claims he paid Mr Cosgrave £2,000 in 1991, £5,000 in 1992 and £1,000 in 1993. These payments coincided with local council elections, a general election and Seanad elections respectively.

Mr Michael O'Higgins SC for Mr Cosgrave said the last donation was made four years previous to the decision on the rezoning of lands owned by English shelf company Jackson Way in Carrickmines, Co Dublin.

Nowhere is it alleged, Mr O'Higgins said, that Mr Cosgrave had "entered into an understanding" that he would do anything for these monies. Mr Dunlop alleges there was an "unspoken agreement" that some favours would be made regarding rezoning in the future. Senator Cosgrave - the son of the former taoiseach - utterly refutes the allegation, the tribunal heard.

Senator Cosgrave was seeking disclosure of "every piece of paper" pertaining to Mr Dunlop that the tribunal held. "It may be that 98 per cent of the evidence will be irrelevant to Mr Cosgrave," Mr O'Higgins said. "But if there is only one document out of 10,000 that assists, then that is enough."

He also queried Mr Dunlop's character, claiming he was "slow to co-operate" with the tribunal and "excluded very important material". Mr Justice Flood even had to take the "unprecedented step" and ask him to step down as a witness and reflect on his evidence, Mr O'Higgins noted. The lobbyist was obviously "wanting in credibility", he alleged. Mr Cosgrave's lawyers have described Mr Dunlop as a "self-confessed perjuror" in submissions to the tribunal.

However, Mr Justice Flood, in refusing the application, said he agreed with tribunal lawyers that to hand over all documents for examination in public sittings "would render the proceedings complex to the point of unworkable".

He also said the question of Mr Dunlop's credibility as a witness would not be addressed until all evidence has been heard and assessed. Mr Justice Flood accepted there was a risk to Mr Cosgrave's reputation, but assured the Senator that the tribunal would make "every effort to minimise" the damage to the reputation of anyone against whom allegations were made.

Mr Dunlop has told the tribunal he paid about £20,000 to several politicians to secure the rezoning of lands in Co Dublin.