Flood examines possible Burke link to Georgian site

The Flood tribunal is investigating a possible link between Mr Ray Burke and one of the most controversial planning permissions affecting Georgian Dublin.

Tribunal lawyers plan to question witnesses about the circumstances in which builders Brennan and McGowan received planning permission for an office block on the Plantation site, a tree-filled oasis on Herbert Street.

The Bord Pleanβla order granting planning permission to the development was signed by one of Mr Burke's closest associates, Mr Tony Lambert, in March 1984. Eleven days later, Mr Lambert and the other Burke-appointed members of An Bord Pleanβla lost their jobs when the Fine Gael/Labour coalition reconstituted the board.

Mr Lambert, who is now chief executive of the Swords Fingal Chamber of Commerce, declined to discuss the matter with The Irish Times when contacted.

Also in late March 1984, Mr Burke instructed his solicitor, Mr Oliver Conlon, to set up an offshore company in Jersey.

Mr Conlon told the tribunal he was told to set up the company, Caviar Ltd, "with considerable urgency". Mr Burke used an unusual form of his name, "P.D. Burke", and a false address in the transaction.

A fortnight later, £35,000 was deposited to a Jersey bank account set up for Caviar. Mr Burke visited Jersey at the time of the payment.

Mr Burke told the tribunal the £35,000 represented the proceeds of fund-raising for him in the UK. He later said the amount was a re-lodgment of money he had withdrawn from his account in the Isle of Man a short time earlier.

The former minister is expected to be questioned about this assertion when he returns to the witness box next month.

The architect who designed the development, Mr Brian O'Halloran, is scheduled to give evidence to the tribunal later this week.

Mr Burke has already had to retract earlier evidence regarding a £15,000 payment in 1985. He had earlier claimed this sum was also a re-lodgment of existing monies, but the tribunal discovered that it was paid by Canio, an offshore company owned by Mr Finnegan and Brennan and McGowan.

The Plantation was originally owned by the Pembroke Estate, of which the auctioneer Mr John Finnegan was a director. The estate applied for planning permission to develop the site on many occasions, without success.

The site was in a designated conservation area opposite one of the finest Georgian terraces in Dublin and was originally a park, although it was later used as a car park.

Mr Finnegan then introduced Brennan and McGowan to the property. The two builders bought the site through a £2 subsidiary company, Criteria Developments, for £40,000 in 1979. Criteria applied for planning permission for offices and apartments, but was refused on multiple grounds.

The company appealed to An Bord Pleanβla, which overturned the original decision. Criteria sold the site to Green Property in 1986 for £261,000.

Mr Joe McGowan has told the tribunal this represented a profit of £150,000 to be shared between Mr Finnegan and Brennan and McGowan.

The sale of the property was held up by a dispute between Mr Finnegan and the two builders.

Mr Finnegan obtained possession of the title deeds and refused to relinquish them until he was paid £50,000 and fees of some £12,000. Mr Finnegan advised Brennan and McGowan on the sale, but he did not invest any money.

He has told the tribunal he is "not sure" why he was owed £50,000. He eventually settled for £20,000.

Mr Burke appointed Mr Lambert to An Bord Pleanβla in 1982, on his last day in office as Minister for Environment.

The previous year, Mr Burke had also made a number of appointments to the board, including the architect of his house in Swords.