FG man claim attempt at rezoning bribery

A Fine Gael election candidate says he has evidence that one of his party colleagues and a Fianna Fáil politician sought a £20,000 bribe in connection with a land rezoning two years ago.

Mr Colm Mac Eochaidh brought the allegation to the attention of his party leader, Mr Michael Noonan, yesterday. However, he declined to reveal the identities of the politicians involved, saying he was bound to confidentiality by his informant.

Writing in today's Irish Times, Mr Mac Eochaidh says an attempt to rezone "a tiny plot of land" in an urban area was met by a request for payment of £20,000 to be divided between the two politicians.

He says the person who provided him with this information will not reveal it to the Flood tribunal because "he doesn't want it splattered all over the media".

Asked whether he intended to bring the information to the Garda, Mr Mac Eochaidh said there was "no point" as there wouldn't be enough evidence to sustain a prosecution.

For legal reasons he declined to say whether the Fine Gael politician is a candidate in the forthcoming election, but he called on the individual to "cease all political activity".

It was "no surprise" that this kind of corrupt activity was still going on, he said; the point was to set up a system to investigate these matters quickly and fairly, and without expensive tribunals.

A Fine Gael spokesman last night said that Mr Noonan believed Mr Mac Eochaidh's informant should refer the matter to the Flood tribunal.

He said this was the proper forum to investigate it, and Mr Noonan understood that Mr Mac Eochaidh had already told his informant to do so.

In his article Mr Mac Eochaidh claims that one individual has made a settlement of over £15 million with the Revenue Commissioners arising from his evidence to the tribunal. He declined to identify the person involved.

In 1995 Mr Mac Eochaidh and a fellow barrister, Mr Michael Smith, offered a £10,000 reward for information on planning corruption. This initiative produced a number of leads and resulted ultimately in the setting up of the Flood tribunal.

However, he said the tribunal was "not the vehicle" to deal with many allegations of corruption. What was needed was a permanent anti-corruption commission which would conduct its business behind closed doors.

Corruption must be election issue: page 10