Gilmartin denies he was corrupt

Mahon tribunal:Mr Gilmartin, however, countered that he "would rather live under a bush than be corrupt".

Paul Sreenan SC put it to Mr Gilmartin that he had described as "despicable" the fact he had, in 1989, felt he had to make a donation of £50,000 to then Fianna Fáil party treasurer Pádraig Flynn. Mr Flynn at the time was also minister for the environment.

Mr Gilmartin was having difficulties pursuing plans to develop a site at Quarryvale in west Dublin.

Mr Gilmartin alleges the difficulties were due to Mr O'Callaghan paying Fianna Fáil politicians to obstruct his plans.

"I had in my mind to give the party a donation to see if I could stop some of the corrupt practices that were going on," he told the tribunal yesterday.

He has given evidence of giving Mr Flynn a cheque made out for £50,000 at his department offices in the Custom House, with the payee line on the cheque blank.

He said Mr O'Callaghan had told him the mechanism that had been used to raise funds for the party, Taca, was being "wound up".

"So when I was making a donation to the party I didn't know who to make it out to. So when I asked the treasurer who do I make it out to, he said, 'Leave it '," said Mr Gilmartin.

Mr Sreenan asked how many payments he had made to Fianna Fáil. "I made one," he said.

Asked why he was in "such a rush" to make the donation, Mr Gilmartin said: "We had an awful lot of interference in the purchase of the land, orchestrated by Mr Lawlor. I had my mind to give the party a donation to see if I could stop some of the corrupt practices, to get a level playing field."

He said he had had demands from a number of Fianna Fáil politicians for payments of up to £5 million. Interference in his plans was part of this, he said. "I felt there was games being played," he said.

"You paid to get a favour, to get the interference stopped," said Mr Sreenan.

"That was my hope, that there would be someone in the party who was decent and honourable."

"But the roadblocks stayed there?"

"They did," said Mr Gilmartin, "Your client had more clout than I did."

"That was a bribe?"

"No it was not a bribe. I would never give a bribe to anyone, Mr Sreenan."

When it was put to him that this was corruption, Mr Gilmartin said it was not illegal. "There was something wrong with the system that I had to pay to get justice," he said.