Tribunal hears developer paid £500,000 to politicians

A property firm paid over £500,000 to lobbyists and politicians, including the late Liam Lawlor, during its efforts to secure the rezoning of lands at Cherrywood in south County Dublin in the 1990s, the Planning Tribunal heard today.

It is claimed a number of county councillors were bribed by lobbyist Frank Dunlop on behalf of Dublin firm Monarch Properties for their support in votes to rezone the 236 acres of land. The land was eventually rezoned for residential and industrial use, despite strong opposition from local residents.

Monarch has admitted making what it said were "political donations" to a large number of councillors and politicians during the 1990s in connection with Cherrywood.

In her opening statement of the Cherrywood Module, Patricia Dillon, SC for the tribunal, said there was "no dispute that these payments were made". The tribunal will try to establish the "true nature of the payments", she said.

The tribunal heard Monarch paid over £508,000 between 1989 and 1997 as part of its efforts to secure the rezoning. It is estimated Mr Dunlop received some £85,000 of this, while Lawlor and his companies were paid around £62,500.

In records furnished to the tribunal, Monarch revealed it paid money to a huge range of politicians, including Tanaiste Mary Harney and former taoisigh John Bruton and Albert Reynolds. The payments ranged from several thousand pounds to £100.

One payment of £25,000 to former taoiseach Charles Haughey has already been investigated by the Moriarty Tribunal.

Mr Reynolds was given £15,000 on behalf of Fianna Fail. In a letter, Monarch thanked Mr Reynolds for Fianna Fail councillors' "forward-thinking" in supporting rezoning motions.

Others Monarch says it gave political donations to include Sean Haughey, Tom Kitt, Senator Don Lydon, GV Wright, Micheal Keating and dozens of other councillors. Payments were also made to Fianna Fail Fine Gael, Labour, the Progressive Democrats and Democratic Left.

Over 90 witnesses, including 50 former and current county councillors, are to be called for this module of the Planning Tribunal's inquiry. It is expected to last for up to eight weeks.

This morning, Ms Dillon outlined the complicated planning process for the lands throughout the 1990s. A range of changes were made to the Dublin Development Plan of 1983, which had originally zoned the lands partly for light residential use, partly for agricultural use and the remainder as high amenity, or green space.

The tract of 236 acres at Cherrywood was bought by Perryvale Ltd from Sean Galvin in 1989 for nearly £10 million. Perryvale, which was owned by Monarch Properties, was subsequently renamed Cherrywood Ltd.

A deal was struck between Cherrywood and a UK property firm, Guardian Royal Exchange, to jointly develop the lands. The tribunal heard that at all times, Monarch had ownership of the property. A Monarch subsidiary known as Monarch Property Services Limited (MPSL) was paid to be the project manager, with half of its fees and expenses being charged to Guardian.

Part of the fees claimed by MPSL were for the reimbursement of payments to a range of politicians, most but not all of whom were Dublin county councillors.

Monarch applied in 1989 for nearly half of the land to be rezoned residential, with the remainder zoned for retail and industrial use. Later applications by county councillors on the Monarch lands would seek to have the South-Eastern Motorway, draft proposals for which would see it bisect the Monarch plot, moved west of the land.