Former minister denies he asked Gilmartin to lie

Former minister Mr Pádraig Flynn has denied asking Mr Tom Gilmartin to lie to the tribunal about the £50,000 he got from the developer.

Mr Flynn confirmed that he had a number of phone calls with the Luton-based developer in September 1998, by which time the tribunal had been established.

However, he said he didn't ask Mr Gilmartin "to tell a lie to anyone about anything".

Mr Gilmartin has told the tribunal that Mr Flynn asked him to lie by pretending that he had returned the contribution. When he refused, he said, Mr Flynn asked him to say it was for his own political cause.

Yesterday, Mr Flynn said the first conversation between the two men lasted over two hours, during which Mr Gilmartin talked extensively about his life and the problems he faced.

He also confirmed that the £50,000 was a personal contribution.

"He was delighted to be able to tell the whole story to someone he regarded as a friend," Mr Flynn told the tribunal. Mr Gilmartin also said he'd "love" to meet the politician. Mr Flynn said he would have been happy to go, but never did.

He rang Mr Gilmartin at least seven times, but in early October 1989, Mr Gilmartin asked him to stop ringing.

Asked why, Mr Flynn said: "He told me he was afraid. I'll never forget it".

Mr Flynn said the only time he personally requested a donation on behalf of Fianna Fáil was at a fundraising dinner in London, in November 1989, when he asked Mr Ted Dadley of Arlington Securities for a contribution.

At the time, Arlington and Mr Gilmartin were jointly developing a shopping centre at Bachelor's Walk, Dublin. Mr Flynn was Fianna Fáil's national treasurer.

He agreed this was a "singular occasion" as it was the only such request he had made in his political career between 1967 and 1999.

He also claimed that Mr Dadley in his evidence had "a clear recollection of nothing".

Mr Hugh O'Neill SC, for Mr Gilmartin, said that "fortuitously" the tribunal had "stumbled on" the one occasion that Mr Flynn had asked for a contribution. The witness said the tribunal hadn't stumbled on anything. He had given the information "straight up" in direct evidence.

He denied an allegation by Mr Gilmartin that he looked for a "substantial contribution" from the developer earlier that year.

Ms Dillon pointed out that Fianna Fáil's chief fundraiser, Mr Paul Kavanagh, had given evidence that Mr Flynn offered to invite a person out for a game of golf to see if he would contribute to the party.

Asked if he disputed Mr Kavanagh's evidence, Mr Flynn replied: "yes, I sure do".