Inquiry viewed as 'a mistake going nowhere'

Politicians thought it was a mistake to set up the planning tribunal when it was first established, former lobbyist Frank Dunlop said yesterday.

Mr Dunlop told the Mahon tribunal that the general view was that a mistake had been made and the tribunal "was going nowhere".

"Everybody regarded this place as a joke populated by muppets," he said. "It was classic, unbuyable entertainment from the first moment it started."

He said many of the politicians in the Dáil believed the tribunal was established as "some sort of PR exercise", and would finish in six months.

Tribunal chairman Judge Alan Mahon intervened in questioning to ask if people were actively planning against the tribunal at the time.

"As one of those muppets, can I ask you if there was people actually strategising about how this tribunal might collapse or might be brought to an end prematurely?" he asked.

Mr Dunlop said he did not believe people were strategising, but they did have a very relaxed attitude toward the tribunal and were of the view that it "could do nothing", if people didn't co-operate with it.

Counsel for the tribunal, Patricia Dillon SC, suggested that it was in Mr Dunlop's interest for the tribunal not to succeed. She said that his strategy, from the time it was established in 1997 up to April 2000, was one of "apparent compliance", while "actively working in the opposite direction".

Mr Dunlop said he did not accept he was actively working against the tribunal, but did agree with the general view that it was going nowhere.

Moreover, he did not tell the tribunal about the payments he'd made. He said if he had given the information, "Krakatoa" would have occurred.

He said he discussed the inquiry with a number of people, including Cork developer Owen O'Callaghan, by whom he was still employed in the promotion of the Liffey Valley shopping centre at Quarryvale. He also spoke to the late Liam Lawlor about it.

"Mr Lawlor's attitude was tell them nothing," Mr Dunlop said.

Ms Dillon said that by not telling the tribunal about corrupt payments, Mr Dunlop was not alone involved in protecting himself but was also protecting the developers for whom he made corrupt payments, and the councillors to whom he gave them. She also said that Mr Dunlop continued to pay councillors corrupt payments after the tribunal was established and so had "no real concerns about it", at the time.

She asked Mr Dunlop if Mr O'Callaghan had ever asked him if he made corrupt payments to politicians on his behalf, given that both he and Mr O'Callaghan were aware the tribunal was examining planning corruption. "I have no recollection of Mr O'Callaghan ever asking me whether I had done anything untoward," Mr Dunlop replied.

In April 2000, after Mr Dunlop revealed to the tribunal that he had made corrupt payments to councillors, Mr O'Callaghan did contact him about it and said: "I did not know what you were doing," Mr Dunlop said.

The former lobbyist also told the tribunal that he arranged a meeting between Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and Mr O'Callaghan in May 1998, to discuss a plan for the development of a national stadium in Neilstown, west Dublin. They also discussed the possibility of attracting Wimbledon Football Club to Dublin.

Mr Dunlop said he did not remember if he attended the meeting at St Luke's in Drumcondra.

However, Mr Ahern had told the tribunal he remembered Mr Dunlop being there.