Property developer Mr Tom Gilmartin told the Mahon tribunal this morning Mr Liam Lawlor had no input in a project for which he was paid nearly £60,000 in consultancy fees.
Mr Tom Gilmartin
The only possible advantage that Arlington Securities could achieve by paying the former Fianna Fáil TD was that he might have some "political clout", the tribunal heard.
Mr Gilmartin was representing the British company in Ireland in the late 1980s during their unsuccessful attempts to build a £100 million shopping centre along the River Liffey at Bachelor's Walk, and another complex at Quarryvale in west Dublin.
He told the tribunal he paid Mr Lawlor £3,500 per month on behalf of Arlington. Mr Gilmartin says these payments were for consultancy fees while Mr Lawlor says they were political contributions. The tribunal is investigating both men's claims, and the possibility these may have been corrupt payments.
When asked this morning by Mr John Gallagher, SC for the tribunal, what role Mr Lawlor had in the development, Mr Gilmartin said: "I couldn't possibly see what role he could have."
"As I understand, he convinced [Arlington] they had to have him on board", he said, by explaining he could save them time and "iron out any wrinkles" in the planning process.
However, Mr Gilmartin said the former TD had no actual input in the planning, acquisition or negotiations involved in the project. "I discussed with Arlington that I didn't see the point of taking him on. I seen him as a hustler," he said. "As I seen it - possibly naively - Mr Lawlor was just there to screw money out of us."
Mr Lawlor addressed a conference organised by Arlington in London on the theme of "Dublin - A City of Opportunity". A copy of the speech shown to the tribunal shows it was delivered by "Liam A. Lawlor MP".
The one advantage of having Mr Lawlor on board was that he was a member of parliament, Mr Gilmartin said, and "might have some political clout". This could help Mr Gilmartin as he wasn't "100 per cent sure" of the way planning worked in Ireland.
Mr Gilmartin told the tribunal he began paying Mr Lawlor £3,500 per month in June 1988 from his account at the Bank of Ireland in Blanchardstown. Mr Gilmartin said Mr Lawlor asked him in September 1988 for a double payment as he was "short of money" and he also asked for the payee on the cheques to be left blank.
He said he paid the politician a total of £35,000 until Mr Lawlor arrived in the bank in March 1989 claiming he had been authorised to take £10,000 from Mr Gilmartin's account. The branch manager contacted Mr Gilmartin and was told Mr Lawlor was lying.
Mr Gilmartin said he refused to continue paying Mr Lawlor after that incident. "I wanted nothing more to do with him, he was a hustler."
However, Arlington continued to pay Mr Lawlor without Mr Gilmartin's knowledge. Among the payments were a £33,000 sterling cheque in April 1989. Why, asked Mr Gallagher, was this cheque paid? "He probably convinced them of some roadblock he was going to remove for them," Mr Gilmartin said. "He usually set up the roadblock in the first place."
The tribunal heard earlier this week Mr Lawlor accepted he had been paid a total of £57,500 by Arlington in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
