Rezoning plans 'torpedoed' by newspaper story

Mahon tribunal:The lobbyist Frank Dunlop has said that proposals to rezone lands at the former Baldoyle racecourse for housing had been "torpedoed" by a newspaper story which suggested that the consortium behind the project stood to make £10 million.

Giving evidence at the Mahon tribunal yesterday, Mr Dunlop said that without this story, which appeared on the morning of the rezoning vote in April 1993, the rezoning bid would have been successful.

He said the story could not but have had the intent of damaging the Baldoyle proposals put forward by a company called Pennine Holdings.

The tribunal is currently investigating allegations made by Mr Dunlop that he gave money to seven councillors to secure their support for the rezoning.

He said that on the morning the story appeared, he received a phone call from the former Fianna Fáil politician, the late Liam Lawlor.

He said that Mr Lawlor has stated that "as a result of this story matters were predictably going down the Swanee".

He said that one Fine Gael politician who had previously been supportive of the rezoning had maintained that he could now no longer back the plan.

Mr Dunlop said that if this councillor had contacted colleagues in the wake of the newspaper story it could have affected a number of other votes.

The lobbyist said that Mr Lawlor had originally proposed that he and a development company, Davy Hickey Properties Ltd (DHPL), become involved in an attempt to rezone the 400 acres.

Mr Dunlop said the land was owned by developer John Byrne, who had previously been unable to secure permission to develop the property.

He said that DHPL had agreed to pay for an option on the land and to fund a feasibility study, but that it did not want to become involved in the rezoning bid.

Mr Dunlop said that some of the money used to pay the councillors could have come from funds provided by DHPL, but that the company had not been so advised. He said that he had never told Mr Byrne either directly or by inference that payments would have to be made to councillors. He also said that he did not have any such discussion with Mr Lawlor.

Mr Dunlop said Mr Lawlor contacted him regularly, even daily, about the Baldoyle project.

He said that Mr Lawlor had advised on the engagement of professional consultants and drafted material for distribution to councillors and residents. However, he said there was no remuneration agreement with Mr Lawlor.

Mr Dunlop said that he had "promoted himself" to councillors as the developer behind the project. "The image was created that it was actually my project. And the attitude on various people's part was that we must do this for Frank," he said. He said he had taken this approach to councillors in an attempt to reduce his outgoings.

However he said that two of the councillors who received money had wanted more than the £1,000 he offered.

Asked about his system for paying councillors, Mr Dunlop said that this had never happened without a politician intimating that money was required for a signature or a vote.

"I never used a brown envelope in my life. I don't think it was currency," he said.

Mr Dunlop said he made payments by either handing it over or slipping it into somebody's overcoat pocket.

"There was no question of counting the money in front of somebody," he said.

Mr Dunlop said that he had learned of the system of corruption through his dealings with Mr Lawlor.