Gilmartin brands Ahern's remarks 'garbage'

Mahon tribunal:The developer Tom Gilmartin described as "garbage" public statements made about him last week by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and developer Owen O'Callaghan.

Mr Gilmartin was responding to questions from Colm O'hOisín SC, counsel for Mr Ahern, who began questioning Mr Gilmartin yesterday.

Mr Gilmartin was answering questions about contacts with journalists in the 1998/1999 period. He said he felt motivated at the time to defend himself against "spin" that was being fed to the media by lobbyist Frank Dunlop.

"I will defend myself at any time," he said. "I have no defence against the kind of garbage that your client [ Mr Ahern] and his cohort, Mr Owen O'Callaghan, put out last week." He was cut short by the chairman of the tribunal, Judge Alan Mahon, who said: "Mr Gilmartin, we don't want to hear that."

Mr Gilmartin said he had spoken to journalists in the period after the story first broke in the Sunday Independent in September 1998, concerning a cheque for £50,000 (€63,000) being given to the then minister for the environment, Pádraig Flynn. Mr Gilmartin said the money was intended for Fianna Fáil.

He said he at first had no intention of co-operating with the tribunal but changed his mind after Mr Flynn appeared on the Late Late Show on RTÉ in January 1999. In response to questioning from Mr O'hOisín, he said he did not think "that I ever gave [ journalists] any information connected with evidence I was giving the tribunal after that date."

However Mr O'hOisín referred him to an article published three weeks later in the Sunday Business Post by journalist Frank Connolly and illustrated with a page from Mr Gilmartin's diary. Mr Gilmartin agreed with the chairman that it was "nearly certain" the diary page came from him.

Mr O'hOisín said Mr Gilmartin had been "caught out on a lie that you told the tribunal a few minutes ago". He asked if Mr Gilmartin now wanted to withdraw his earlier evidence. Mr Gilmartin said he did not wish to. He said he was entitled to defend himself when others were making comments about him. He denied that he had lied on oath.

Mr Gilmartin said that in the period after the story first broke in the Sunday Independent he had contact with Jody Corcoran of that newspaper, Charlie Bird of RTÉ, Maeve Sheehan, and Ursula Halligan, as well as Mr Connolly. "There was a frenzy of journalists." He said "lies" were being published about him and he took it upon himself to have them corrected.

Mr O'hOisín said Mr Gilmartin only began to "focus in" on Mr Ahern towards the end of 1998 and into 1999. Mr Gilmartin said he could not comment on that. "It was only really towards the beginning of 1999 that you really started to get Mr Ahern into your sights," Mr O'hOisín said.

Mr Gilmartin said the only person who said anything derogatory about Mr Ahern was Mr O'Callaghan "who told me that Mr Ahern was on his payroll".

Questioning of Mr Gilmartin will continue tomorrow.