A Cork property developer Mr Owen O'Callaghan has brought High Court proceedings seeking to compel the Mahon tribunal to provide his legal team with access to a number of statements made by Mr Tom Gilmartin to the tribunal.
Mr Gilmartin, when giving evidence to the tribunal, had alleged Mr O'Callaghan was a "crook and a blackmailer". He also alleged Mr O'Callaghan took steps through various councillors to ensure appropriate rezoning of the Quarryvale lands in west Dublin was not obtained when Mr Gilmartin was in charge of that site, which now contains the Liffey Valley shopping centre.
Mr O'Callaghan (63), Glen Farm, Upper Rochestown, Cork, denies any impropriety and claims his good name has been impugned by Mr Gilmartin in his testimony to the tribunal.
He contends that a number of documents are required by his lawyers for their cross-examination of Mr Gilmartin but that the tribunal has refused to release those documents to his lawyers.
The application to compel the release of the documents has been brought by way of judicial review which opened yesterday before Mr Justice O'Neill.
Mr O'Callaghan is seeking an order quashing the tribunal's refusal to permit him to have access to documents which record oral and written statements submitted to the tribunal by Mr Gilmartin prior to his giving evidence.
That refusal has impaired his entitlement to fully test the recollection of Mr Gilmartin, it is claimed.
In an affidavit, Mr Richard Martin of Ronan Daly Jermyn solicitors, for Mr O'Callaghan, said his client was a director of Riga Ltd, Barkhill Ltd and O'Callaghan Properties Ltd and had been involved in property development for 35 years. The essence of Mr Gilmartin's allegations concerned his connections with politicians and the manner in which Mr Gilmartin came to deal with Mr O'Callaghan. In October 1987, Mr O'Callaghan acquired lands at Neilstown/Balgaddy, then in the course of being bought by Mr Albert Gubay from the then Dublin County Council, Mr Martin said. Mr O'Callaghan made an agreement that Mr Gilmartin would buy the site for £3.5 million but Mr Gilmartin defaulted and Mr O'Callaghan eventually acquired an interest in Barkhill Ltd, the company being used by Mr Gilmartin to acquire Quarryvale.
Mr O'Callaghan and Mr Gilmartin proceeded to develop Quarryvale and in 1996 Mr Gilmartin was finally bought out for £7.76 million.