Tribunal to hear claim of agreed statements

The planning tribunal will today hear claims that two former Dublin county councillors conspired to give an agreed version of events to the inquiry.

Fine Gael's Michael Joe Cosgrave and Fianna Fáil's Liam Creaven are being recalled to the tribunal over an allegation that they met former lobbyist Frank Dunlop when preparing their statements less than three years ago.

The allegation comes from Mary Maguire, who used to carry out secretarial work for Mr Cosgrave. She is expected to tell the inquiry of a meeting between the two councillors and Mr Dunlop, after which she was asked to type up their statements.

Today's evidence forms part of the Fox and Mahony module of the inquiry's work, which was supposed to have been completed in November 2003.

This concerns an allegation by Mr Dunlop that he was paid £12,000 by businessman Denis Mahony and accountant Noel Fox to get land rezoned at Portmarnock, Co Dublin.

Mr Dunlop has told the tribunal he paid bribes totalling £6,000 to four Fianna Fáil councillors, not including Mr Creaven.

He claimed the two landowners "knew the way the world worked", but Mr Mahony said the money he gave to the lobbyist was a professional fee, and Mr Fox denied giving any money.

Mr Creaven and Mr Cosgrave signed the rezoning motion for the land along with three other councillors. In their evidence in 2003 they described as coincidence similarities in their respective statements to the tribunal, and the fact they both forgot to mention £1,000 donations they each received from property developer Seán Mulryan.

Mr Creaven accepted that he and Mr Cosgrave were "a double act" who held the same views and consistently voted the same way.

Both men rejected a claim by tribunal lawyers that they were Mr Dunlop's "puppets".

The two councillors, Ms Maguire and Mr Dunlop are being called to give evidence in the hearing, which is expected to take a day.

Almost all other tribunal business is being held up by court proceedings taken by Cork property developer Owen O'Callaghan.

Following last month's Supreme Court decision to uphold Mr O'Callaghan's right to access confidential tribunal interviews with developer Tom Gilmartin, the High Court will next week hear from both sides on how this will take place. Further hearings are unlikely until the court makes a decision. The tribunal does, however, plan to take further evidence from beef baron Larry Goodman next week.