Dunlop blackened him, says witness

Property developer Mr Tom Gilmartin has accused Mr Frank Dunlop of feeding stories to the media in order to "blacken" his name.

Mr Gilmartin claimed the former Government press secretary and lobbyist had been doing this "for years".

As a result, a series of "scurrilous" articles about his affairs had appeared in the press. Mr Gilmartin said that in spite of this he had not spoken to journalists until after EU commissioner Mr Pádraig Flynn made comments about him on the Late Late Show in January 1999.

He said Mr Flynn phoned him in September 1998 to tell him what was going on behind his back. "He said he had something to tell me." This was nine years after Mr Gilmartin gave the former minister a cheque for £50,000 intended, he says, for Fianna Fáil.

The witness was asked about notes Mr Flynn took of this and other conversations between the two in the same month. These record Mr Flynn as saying "I'm saying you gave me a personal contribution for my political campaign. I didn't ask and you didn't ask for anything. [There were] no strings attached. I take it, Tom, it's agreed that's what happened - \ truth."

Mr Flynn records Mr Gilmartin as replying: "That's right, I'll sort it out."

Asked about these notes, Mr Gilmartin said the last line wasn't quite accurate. What he had said was "I'm staying out of the tribunal". He said Mr Flynn was, in his opinion, "more honest than a lot". The politician told him it would cost him the best part of a million pounds or the extension of his commissionership if Mr Gilmartin did not say "the right thing". If it got into the open that he had got the money personally, it would damage his reputation.

Mr Gilmartin said his wife felt sorry that he might have anything to do with Mr Flynn's downfall. He decided at the time he would "stay out of it". There was no point in co-operating with the tribunal because, he felt, it would "go to sand" as other tribunals had. Because of the political atmosphere, there was "no chance" of getting a fair deal.

He told Mr Flynn he would not perjure himself. But he could do him a favour, because he was not getting involved with the tribunal, so the problem was not there.