Architect says he cannot recall memo

A retired architect has said he cannot recall a memo in his name which Mr James Gogarty cited last week as providing "very important" documentary evidence of planning corruption involving senior politicians.

Mr Jack Manahan believes the memo, which dates from 1983, could have been written by another person who then added his name.

The tribunal is due to resume tomorrow following Friday's adjournment because of Mr Gogarty's illness.

In the memo, Mr Manahan is quoted as saying that "through certain `channels', I was able to discover in time" that An Bord Pleanala intended to turn down a planning decision, "but I was eventually successful in having this reversed and full planning permission was granted".

Mr Gogarty told the planning tribunal last week that this memo and discussions with fellow executives in Joseph Murphy Structural Engineering led him to believe two senior politicians, one Fianna Fail and one Fine Gael, were receiving payments in return for planning favours.

The memo, written to a subsidiary of JMSE, concerned a housing development at Forest Road, Swords. JMSE obtained planning permission to build 206 houses on the site, but a resident objected and the matter was appealed to An Bord Pleanala.

Mr Manahan is now 85 years old and has been unwell. Speaking through his son, he acknowledged designing the Forest Road development but said the memo "didn't ring any bells". He pointed out that the note referred to billing matters, for which he had no responsibility.

In the early 1980s An Bord Pleanala was mired in controversy following a series of political appointments by the then Minister for the Environment, Mr Ray Burke.

Meanwhile the Sunday Business Post has claimed that the developer Mr Michael Bailey sought a £300,000 loan from Anglo-Irish Bank in 1989 in connection with his dealings with JMSE.

The report says Mr Gogarty is not mentioned in handwritten notes made by a bank official at the time.

The only name which appears is Mr Joseph Murphy; it is not clear whether this refers to Mr Murphy senior or junior.

This runs counter to a report in the Irish Independent last month which said that when Mr Bailey was withdrawing £50,000 from the bank in 1989, he said it was for Mr Gogarty.

Mr Gogarty's name appeared in the bank official's notes, the article alleged. This article led to an investigation by the tribunal chairman, Mr Justice Flood, into the source of the leak.

According to the Department of the Environment, the total cost of the tribunal so far (since November 1997) has been £2.75 million. This includes £1.3 million in fees for the tribunal legal team.

Senior counsel are paid £1,450 on days of public hearings, and £1,350 on non-sitting days. They also receive a £25,000 "brief fee" or retainer. Juniors get £900 to £950 per day.

Barring further interruptions, Mr Gogarty's cross-examination is expected to conclude this month. Other witnesses named in his allegations will then he called.