Mr James Gogarty is believed to be the author of all the 29 statements to the Garda which were so dramatically introduced into yesterday's proceedings of the Planning Tribunal.
The new statements passed on by the Garda were among the main considerations behind Mr Justice Flood's decision to put back the public hearing of Mr Gogarty's evidence by almost two months.
However, he acknowledged the right of those on the receiving end of Mr Gogarty's allegations to have more time to prepare their defence.
The latest statements break new ground for the tribunal, broadening its investigations to include planning matters in Dublin separate from those allegations which led to the establishment of the tribunal. They also cover matters surrounding the construction of the ESB power plant in Moneypoint, Co Clare. At last week's hearing, counsel for Mr Joseph Murphy Snr, one of the builders at the centre of Mr Gogarty's allegations, objected strenuously to the inclusion of these references in Mr Gogarty's affidavit to the tribunal, filed last month.
Mr Gogarty is a former senior executive of Joseph Murphy Structural Engineering. One of his main jobs was to work as a loss adjuster on large construction projects. Moneypoint is one of the largest building projects ever undertaken in the State and Mr Gogarty's involvement in the project was considerable. However, it was at this time that he fell out with his long-time employers over his pension.
Mr Justice Flood is taking a gamble in putting back the hearing planned for next week until January. A two-month delay may be long enough to stave off the High Court proceedings which were threatened by the people against whom Mr Gogarty is making allegations, but will it be short enough to enable the tribunal's main witness to make it to the stand?
Now 81, Mr Gogarty is said to be frail - he had a pacemaker fitted some years ago - but is determined to tell his side of the story. Yesterday's hearing in Dublin Castle was a tense affair, with the judge delivering his decision on an adjournment with sarcasm and occasional flashes of anger. Mr Colm Allen SC, for Michael Bailey and Bovale Developments, bore the brunt of the judge's wrath; he was accused of making "unnecessary and pejorative remarks" at last week's hearing, where some of his arguments were "not pursued with any degree of conviction".
The judge warned the five men who are the subject of Mr Gogarty's statement about their failure to submit statements of their own. This was hard to reconcile with their professed intentions to co-operate with the tribunal, he said. This amounted to something of a "yellow card" as, according to the tribunal's terms of reference, those who fail to co-operate could end up footing their own legal bills.
But having delivered his 17-page decision, Mr Justice Flood wanted only to end proceedings quickly before the massed ranks of senior counsel started gnawing away at his rejection of their arguments. He dealt briefly with a question and, before his word could be questioned or contradicted, was on his feet: "That is the answer. Good morning."
And with that, the Payments Tribunal concluded its public proceedings for 1998.