The Flood Tribunal has declined an invitation to state explicitly that no allegations are being made against planning officials, as opposed to county councillors. However, tribunal lawyers say they haven't made any allegations about officials.
Mr Justice Flood was ruling on a clarification sought yesterday by lawyers for Jackson Way, the owners of the lands at Carrickmines that are currently under investigation.
Mr Ian Finlay SC, for Jackson Way and one of its owners, Mr John Caldwell, had sought clarification as to whether planning officials were subject to any allegations in the current module.
He said his query arose from questioning by tribunal lawyers of a witness last week. If planners were subject to allegations, he could understand why the matter was pursued as it had been. However, that would have been "entirely new to me", Mr Finlay said.
In his ruling, Mr Justice Flood said this was a "prudent matter" for Mr Finlay to raise before he began his cross-examination. However, the tribunal's remit was to consider all matters relating to the motivation and decisions of councillors and the advice provided to them.
Mr Finlay had sought the clarification before the beginning of the cross-examination of Mr Enda Conway, a former planning official with Dublin County Council. Counsel said it would have a material bearing on the necessity, nature and duration of this questioning.
He said there was no indication before the tribunal's examination of the witness last Thursday that the tribunal was concerned with the propriety of the technical advice provided to county councillors by the planners on Carrickmines.
Up to last Thursday, the soundness of the advice from the planners had not been an issue as far as the tribunal was concerned, Mr Finlay said. He had, however, specific concerns about matters that arose during the questioning of the witness by Mr Patrick Quinn SC, for the tribunal.
Last week, Mr Conway was questioned about two reports from the county manager, Mr Kevin O'Sullivan, to councillors in 1990. These proposed the rezoning of large areas of land in the Carrickmines Valley.
Questioned by Mr Quinn about these reports, Mr Conway agreed that they were inaccurate and that they conflicted with the working papers he (Mr Conway) had drawn up. There were, in fact, ample amounts of industrial and residential zoned land in the region.
Yesterday, Mr Quinn pointed out that the 1988 report of the Eastern Regional Development Organisation, chaired by Mr Liam Lawlor, had proposed a population of 27,000 people in the Shanganagh area (which includes Carrickmines) and the rezoning of 200 hectares of land for industrial use.
Mr Conway agreed there was a divergence between this report and the actual situation with regard to zoned land in the area.
Responding yesterday to Mr Finlay's application, Mr John Gallagher SC, for the tribunal, said the tribunal was inquiring into that fact and had not made any allegations. All that had happened last Thursday was that Mr Conway had been asked to explain the "apparent contradiction" between the working papers he had prepared and the reports presented to the council by the manager in November and December 1990.
Mr Quinn had not made any allegation against any official, Mr Gallagher said. He pointed out that Mr Finlay was representing Jackson Way and Mr John Caldwell at the tribunal, and not any official.
Later, Mr Conway told Mr Cormac Ó Dulachain SC, for the family of the late Cllr Tom Hand, that on many occasions, councillors had taken decisions without there being any justification for voting in the way they did.
