Dunlop got #1.8m for Quarryvale work

Former government press secretary and lobbyist Frank Dunlop received over £1.8 million for his work on the development of a shopping centre at Quarryvale in west Dublin, the tribunal has heard.

Most of the money paid by developer Owen O'Callaghan to Mr Dunlop was for consultancy fees, which accounted for over £1.1 million of the amount. Mr O'Callaghan also reimbursed Mr Dunlop for legal fees of over £360,000 incurred by the lobbyist in his dealings with the tribunal.

Mr O'Callaghan has told the tribunal he decided to pay the legal fees because he felt Mr Dunlop's involvement with the inquiry flowed from their business involvement, according to senior counsel Patricia Dillon, for the tribunal, in her opening statement.

Mr O'Callaghan has also said the evidence Mr Dunlop gave in 2000 about corrupt payments came as a "total surprise". Thereafter, he ceased paying Mr Dunlop's legal expenses.

Ms Dillon said although Mr Dunlop and Mr O'Callaghan both accepted they had made payments to politicians, their positions on these were "radically different". Mr Dunlop said he had made both corrupt and bona fide payments, while Mr O'Callaghan said he had made only bona fide payments, and that he had remunerated Liam Lawlor.

Counsel outlined the payments made by Mr O'Callaghan which, she said, fell into three categories: payments to Dublin county councillors; payments to political parties; and commercial relationships between the developer and his companies and companies operated by certain councillors.

In total, she said, Mr O'Callaghan had paid £104,700 to Dublin councillors, with the largest allocation, a total of £36,000, going to Mr Lawlor.

In addition, she listed payments made by Mr O'Callaghan to political parties or to politicians outside Dublin. By far the largest donation was one of £80,000 to Fianna Fáil in 1994. The developer also made donations of £10,000 and £5,000 to Micheál Martin in 1989 and 1991, £10,000 to Batt O'Keeffe in 1992 and £10,000 to Brian Crowley in 1994.

A number of councillors benefited from commercial contracts at Quarryvale. Essential Services, owned by councillor Colm McGrath, invoiced Mr O'Callaghan's companies for security and equipment services at the shopping centre, worth over £27,000 up to 2003.

Marine and General Insurances Ltd, linked to another councillor, Colm Tyndall, earned "significant premia" on policies provided for Quarryvale, according to Ms Dillon. A third councillor, John O'Halloran, was linked to a catering contract from the building contractors at the centre, she said.

Earlier, lawyers for Mr O'Callaghan warned they "may well apply" to the High Court for an injunction to stop the current hearings.

Senior counsel Paul Sreenan, for Mr O'Callaghan, pointed out that the court had earlier this week given their client leave to apply for a judicial review of the inquiry's plans to investigate the rezoning of Quarryvale. Lawyers for the inquiry had refused a request to postpone the hearings, he said.

Some 88 witnesses will be called in the current module.

The current hearings are a continuation of hearings last year into the acquisition of the Quarryvale site by Luton-based developer Tom Gilmartin. He was the first to spot the potential of the site, located on the junction of the M50 and the N4, for a shopping centre. However, his financial and other difficulties led to the involvement of another developer, Mr O'Callaghan, who eventually took over the running of the project and opened it as Liffey Valley shopping centre.