Tribunal told Burke sought payments for land rezoning

Mr Ray Burke, the former minister for foreign affairs, actively sought payments from property developers in return for land rezoning in 1989, the Flood tribunal was told yesterday.

Giving evidence in relation to attempts to have a 700-acre land bank in north Co Dublin rezoned on behalf of the Murphy group of companies, Mr James Gogarty claimed that £80,000 was handed over to Mr Burke in his home in June 1989.

The money was handed over at the suggestion of Mr Michael Bailey, of Bovale Developments, who contributed £40,000 of the total, Mr Gogarty said. The £40,000 Murphy group contribution had been handed over because "there was pressure coming from Burke to get moving".

Mr Gogarty also alleged that when Mr Burke was asked by Mr Gogarty for some kind of guarantee that rezoning would take place, the Fianna Fail politician replied that they were "well aware of how he had honoured his commitments in the past".

Outlining the background to the events, Mr Gogarty said he had received a phone call from Mr Frank Reynolds, then chief executive of JMSE, the Murphy group operating company. Mr Reynolds said a letter had been received from Mr Michael Bailey offering to secure planning permission on the land bank in return for a 50 per cent interest in the land.

Mr Gogarty also claimed that, in conversation, Mr Bailey had said he was able to secure the rezoning with support from councillors from "across the political divide", but especially with the support of Mr Burke, who had influence with the Fianna Fail majority among the 78 councillors. According to Mr Gogarty, Mr Bailey also said he could depend on the support of Mr George Redmond, the assistant city and county manager at the time.

Mr Gogarty said that Mr Joseph Murphy snr had fears that the Revenue Commissioners might take control of the land, as a result of information which might come to light in a case for unfair dismissal being taken by a former Murphy group chief executive, Mr Liam Conroy. Because of this, Mr Murphy snr wanted a quick sale.

However, Mr Gogarty said Mr Joseph Murphy jnr and Mr Frank Reynolds had had discussions about "maximising the potential of those lands", and when Mr Gogarty was called to a meeting in Dublin in June he said he found "the deal with Bailey was nearly agreed" and he had been prevailed upon to convince Mr Murphy snr of the merits of the plan.

He said that at the meeting Mr Bailey was "acknowledging that there was no value beyond agricultural land and that he could remedy that . . . it could be done by him getting rezoning either by normal applications or by a variation - there is a section where it can be done by the council. It takes it out of the planners' hand and into the political field, which is summarised in his letter".

Mr Gogarty said he went to the offices of JMSE in Santry on June 8th, 1989, and there found Mr Frank Reynolds and Mr Murphy jnr "waiting for a call from Bailey to set up a meeting with Burke".

He continued: "They had it all set up at that time because they had an envelope with money in it . . . They said they had arranged for £40,000, their side of it, to give to Burke.

"Frankie had brought back £30,000 cash and Junior was short £10,000, because the agreement with Bailey was that each of them would give £40,000 towards this proposition. And Junior told me or Frankie to get a cheque. Frankie was the man there and he went down and got a cheque book and came up, and we signed a cheque for £10,000 to cash, and that was the £40,000."

Mr Gogarty said he checked the envelope and satisfied himself that there was £30,000 in cash in £100 and £50 notes. However, the meeting with Mr Burke did not take place, and Mr Gogarty said he left the cheque in the envelope. A few days later he received a call from Mr Reynolds saying that the meeting was on again, he told Mr John Gallagher SC, for the tribunal.

"Frank Reynolds was supposed to come along, but he excused himself, so it was only Junior and myself, and Mr Bailey drove us to the meeting out in Swords . . . I sat in the back of the car and Junior was in the front of it and I had the envelope in my pocket."

Mr Gogarty said that Mr Bailey drove in a dark grey Mercedes car and took an envelope from the dashboard when they arrived at Mr Burke's house in Swords.

"I don't think there was a whole lot said, but I said `Will we get a receipt for this money?' and Bailey said `Will we fuck!' Bailey knocked on the door and Mr Burke came out and he introduced us, and we went in and sat down in a room off the left of the hall."

Mr Gogarty said he recognised Mr Burke as a well-known public figure.

He added that the room was a dining room. "There was a table and chairs and a sideboard and I sat down." Mr Burke sat opposite him, in between Mr Bailey and Mr Murphy jnr. "His back was to the sideboard. I put the envelope I had on the table between myself and Junior, and Bailey put his envelope on the table, too."

Mr Gogarty said he "took out a letter that Bailey had written me and asked him did he want to see it, and he said he had already seen it or knew of the contents of it. So I put it back in my pocket and I took out the schedule of the lands, and I put it over to Mr Burke and I told him what it was, and he said he had already got a copy of it.

"So I put that back in my pocket, too, and Bailey put over his envelope, and Burke never opened them or touched them, as far as I was concerned at that time, but then I said it was a substantial payment, you know, against an open-ended commitment, and my anxiety was could I go back to Senior [Mr Murphy snr] and allay his anxieties about paying out this money.

"And Burke says that Mr Murphy and Mr Bailey were well aware of how he had honoured his commitments in the past, and immediately Bailey intervened and said `That's all right as well, Jim, leave it with me and Ray'."

Mr Gogarty said Mr Burke was looking at his watch several times and spoke of an appointment later that evening. "Time was running out, because this was some time after four o'clock in the evening, and he got up and said we would have a quick cup of tea."

According to Mr Gogarty, when Mr Burke got up he took the two envelopes and put them in the drawer of the sideboard. After this, Mr Gogarty said, Mr Burke brought in a tray of tea and biscuits, which they had standing up, "and basically that finished it and we left and shook hands and wished each other luck."

Mr Gogarty said that the four men were in the room at all times except for the time that Mr Burke went to get the tea. He said they saw no other occupants of the house at the time. Before leaving, he left the schedule of lands on the table, he said.

Pressed by Mr Gallagher, counsel for the tribunal, Mr Gogarty said he was satisfied that there was £40,000 in one envelope, but he had only assumed that there was a similar £40,000 in the envelope, which he said was handed over by Mr Bailey. "There could have been feathers in it for all I know", he said, before telling Mr Gallagher that he believed it contained £40,000.

"I thought that between the three of us we had handed over £80,000 . . . Mr Burke seemingly was aware of what he was expected to do.

"What I expected him to do and Bailey expected him to do was that he'd influence Fianna Fail councillors, and at that time, according to Mr Bailey, they had a majority in Dublin County Council; but, in addition to that, according to Mr Bailey, Burke could control the Fianna Fail vote on the council, and Bailey could cross the political divide for further votes, and he named people that I don't want to be naming."

Later, when Mr Gallagher asked Mr Gogarty if any contribution to Mr Burke had been made on any previous occasion by him or Mr Murphy or JMSE, Mr Gogarty replied: "Well, I can only go on what I was inferring or understood."

Following this reply Mr Gallagher asked: "To your knowledge, was any such payment made?"

"Not to my knowledge physically, no", Mr Gogarty responded.