'Mr Insatiable' to stand in election

The man dubbed "Mr Insatiable" after Mr Frank Dunlop's evidence to the Flood tribunal is to stand in the forthcoming general election.

Former Fianna Fáil councillor Mr Colm McGrath has decided to stand as an independent in the Dublin Mid West constituency, where he may face another controversial figure who was dropped by the party, Mr Liam Lawlor.

Mr Lawlor, who earned the title "Mr Big" after Mr Dunlop's evidence, has yet to say whether he will stand in the election.

Mr McGrath is under investigation by the tribunal in relation to a number of substantial payments he is alleged to have received. Mr Dunlop has told the tribunal he gave Mr McGrath €2,540 in connection with the rezoning of the massive Quarryvale shopping centre in west Dublin. Mr McGrath proposed the motion to rezone the site in 1991.

Mr McGrath is also under investigation for a €38,090 payment he received in relation to the rezoning of land at Lucan in 1993. The rezoning passed by one vote but was later rescinded.

Mr McGrath declined to discuss the payments he is alleged to have received, saying he was "restricted" and "precluded" by the tribunal from doing so.

"I have given away more money to local causes than I ever received," he said. He expressed doubt that Mr Dunlop's remark about an "insatiable" councillor was a reference to him. "That man was under serious duress at the time," he said.

Mr McGrath, a businessman who runs a security company, said he was standing on his record as a public representative in the area for the past 17 years. He said he had played a "pivotal" part in creating jobs in the area and spearheaded the drive to bring in private sector employers.

Counting Quarryvale (now known as the Liffey Valley Centre) as one of his greatest achievements, he said he was looking forward to "the full story" about its rezoning coming out at the tribunal.

"There's a straightforward logical reason why Quarryvale came to pass. It grew out of failure and inaction by the planners, who failed to realise that the original site they had zoned for a town centre was going nowhere. Time has proven me right."

He had yet to hear a reason from Fianna Fáil why he was de-selected as a candidate in the last local elections. "All politicians receive donations. Only I was made to walk the plank."

In the last general election, Mr McGrath polled almost 3,000 votes in Dublin South West. He campaigned against "alleged political refugees", accusing them of ritually slaughtering lambs in back gardens in Tallaght and "milking" the social welfare system.

Yesterday, he denied that he was "having a go" against immigrants in 1997. "It was about integration. The services weren't in place for them back then.

"But the question on everyone's lips is, how come so many immigrants are finding their way across so many boundaries?"

Mr McGrath said there should be more consultation with local communities before asylum-seekers were housed in area. However, it wasn't a big issue in Clondalkin, he added.

This time around, he said, he was "quietly confident" of taking the third seat in Dublin Mid West.