Witness says Lawlor was at Paisley Park meetings

Former Fianna Fáil TD Mr Liam Lawlor attended a number of meetings about the Paisley Park lands in Carrickmines, Co Dublin, the tribunal heard yesterday.

Mr Brian O'Flanagan, a consulting engineer who was employed to draw up a submission seeking the rezoning of the lands, said he met Mr Lawlor and businessman Mr Jim Kennedy twice in December 1991. One of the meetings took place in Leinster House.

Mr Lawlor has consistently denied any involvement with the Paisley Park lands.

Last year, he told the tribunal: "I confirm that I have not at any time had any interest, directly or indirectly . . . with Paisley Park . . . The only knowledge I had of Paisley Park and Jackson Way is by reading about these companies" in the newspapers.

He has also denied having any business relationship with Mr Kennedy, although the two men were involved in a number of land deals. Mr Kennedy has denied that Mr Lawlor had any interest in the Carrickmines lands.

Yesterday, Mr O'Flanagan said he was called to a meeting with Mr Lawlor and Mr Kennedy in Leinster House in December 1991. He was given instructions to prepare documents and maps for submissions to the draft Dublin development plan in relation to Carrickmines. Later that day, Mr Lawlor rang him to ask if the maps were ready. Mr Lawlor's son Niall called in to collect them.

The following day, Mr Lawlor and Mr Kennedy called to Mr O'Flanagan's office in D. McCarthy & Co to pick up the final submission.

Ms Gráinne Mallon, the architect employed by Paisley Park in relation to the submissions, said she met Mr Kennedy only once. Mr Kennedy owned land in Lucan and she walked this property with him.

Ms Mallon originally told the tribunal she had no recollection of Mr John Caldwell, who has also been linked to the ownership of Paisley Park. However, she later discovered that she had met him in February 1992.

Asked about letters from Paisley Park which referred to her employment in November 1991, Ms Mallon said she had no dealings with the lands until three months later. She had no knowledge of the ownership of the lands.

Ms Mallon said the relevant files had been shredded when her company moved office some years ago.

Earlier, Mr Frank Dunlop told the tribunal he had topped up a contribution by a developer, identified as "Mr B", to a politician with £5,000 of his own money.

He said he was asked by Mr B - who is Cork-based developer, Mr Owen O'Callaghan - whether it was appropriate to make a payment to the politician. When he said it was, the two men travelled to the politician's office in May 1992.

Another developer was present but when he left, Mr O'Callaghan handed the politician an envelope. Mr Dunlop left the room for a while, but returned after Mr O'Callaghan's departure to hand the politician £5,000 in cash.

Mr Dunlop said it was "a happy coincidence" that an election was coming up and there was a "particular coincidence" that an acutely important vote was coming up on the rezoning of Quarryvale, which was being developed by Mr O'Callaghan.

Mr O'Higgins said there was a "huge inconsistency" in that Mr Dunlop was claiming he spent his own money promoting the developer's cause in circumstances where the Quarryvale project had already been brought "over the line". It was "inconceivable" that he would not have brought his donation to the attention of the client.

Mr Dunlop said that hindsight did not take account of the close relationship he had with this client.