McGrath got more than £40,000 from developer

Mahon tribunal:Former Fianna Fáil councillor Colm McGrath was given over £40,000 by a developer behind the Quarryvale project, the Mahon tribunal heard yesterday.

He also received "three or four" donations of between £500 and £2,000 from lobbyist Frank Dunlop.

Mr McGrath was part of a "strategy team" of councillors who helped Cork developer Owen O'Callaghan and Mr Dunlop to advance the Quarryvale development. He canvassed colleagues in the council, as well as former taoisigh Charles Haughey and Albert Reynolds, and former minister for the environment Pádraig Flynn, for support.

Mr McGrath told the tribunal that Mr O'Callaghan gave him two payments - one of £20,000 in November 1993 and one of £10,000 in 1991 - because he had put so much work into the promotion of Quarryvale that his business had suffered.

Through Mr Dunlop, Mr O'Callaghan also paid a business debt of £10,700 for Mr McGrath in June 1992. Mr McGrath phoned Mr Dunlop and said he was in court and needed the money to pay his debt. Mr Dunlop arranged for the sum to be paid and was later reimbursed by Mr O'Callaghan.

The donations he received from Mr Dunlop included one £2,000 contribution that Mr Dunlop left on his desk wrapped in a copy of The Irish Times in June 1992. There were three other donations, one of £1,000 and two of £500 each, Mr McGrath said.

Counsel for the tribunal Patricia Dillon SC suggested that Mr McGrath had not made full disclosure of all of the money he had received when he spoke to the tribunal in 1998. Mr McGrath said he could not accept that.

However, tribunal chairman Judge Alan Mahon said the clear impression had been given at private interview that his involvement with Mr O'Callaghan had been "fairly minimal". "My involvement with Quarryvale was pretty much known to be extensive," Mr McGrath said.

The tribunal heard that Luton-based developer Tom Gilmartin, who initiated the Quarryvale development, had claimed the first motion to rezone Quarryvale, put down by Mr McGrath, was only lodged after Mr Gilmartin agreed to a deal with AIB and Mr O'Callaghan.

Mr Gilmartin had told the tribunal that on February 15th, 1991, the deadline to lodge the vital motion, he received a call from Mr McGrath. Mr McGrath told him he could not lodge the motion until Mr Gilmartin signed the heads of agreement for the deal with AIB and Mr O'Callaghan. Mr McGrath denied the conversation had happened.

Ms Dillon asked why he left it until the last day to lodge the motion. Mr McGrath initially said he was waiting for a map from the council's planning department. However, when Ms Dillon pointed out the map he used was from Taggart, Mr Gilmartin's architect, Mr McGrath said he must have been waiting for the Taggart's map.