Mahon dismisses claim by Lawlor on lack of money

The chairman of the Mahon tribunal has dismissed a claim by Mr Liam Lawlor that he was unable to comply with orders of discovery of documents because he could not afford solicitors' fees.

The tribunal is seeking documentation surrounding Mr Lawlor's sale for £825,000 of an acre of land adjacent to his home in Lucan in November 2001.

Mr Lawlor has insisted he cannot afford the £10,000 in legal fees demanded by London-based solicitors' firm Seddon's to release the information demanded by the tribunal.

However, Judge Alan Mahon said today he refused to accept the former Fianna Fáil TD was in such a poor financial position he could not "get on a plane to London" and get the documentation from the solicitors.

Mr Lawlor told the tribunal yesterday he was living on around €3,000 per month. He said he got a Dáil severance payment of €116,000 last month and has a Dáil pension of €2,800 per month.

Mr Mahon argued today that, based on his calculations, Mr Lawlor was spending about €200,000 per year. There was also the matter of about £40,000 sterling that the tribunal has established Mr Lawlor has in an offshore account in Gibraltar.

Mr Lawlor argued the Seddon's payment was "not a priority" for him, considering the other legal bills he was facing, including a demand for €600,000 from the tribunal itself.

"It is the tribunal's position that you have more than ample funds to secure the information requested," Mr Mahon said. "All you have to do is take £10,000 from your offshore account, get on a plane and go to London and get [it]. . . . Will you do that?"

"I'll give it every consideration," Mr Lawlor answered, to loud laughter from the packed public gallery. "I'll try to contact Seddon's and see if they'll be amenable to that".

This afternoon, Mr Lawlor offered to travel to London next week to visit Seddon's in an effort to uncover whatever documents he can relating to the order of discovery.

The politician has already served three sentences in Mountjoy Prison, totalling six weeks, for previous failures to comply with the tribunal's orders.

Mr Lawlor also described a property venture in south London he was currently trying to get off the ground. This involved the demolition of a building in Putney and the building of 40 new apartments. It would require an initial capital outlay of around £5 million but could realise a £2 million profit, of which he hoped to earn 10 or 20 per cent.

He has approached a number of Irish developers to discuss the project, but "it hasn't gone any further than that".

Earlier, Mr Lawlor objected strongly to providing the tribunal with details of his current account in the Ulster Bank in Lucan. He said he "can see no reason" why his personal expenditure can be of any interest to the tribunal unless he is using the money for bribes or corrupt payments.

"How I spend [my money] is of secondary importance to the tribunal, I would have thought," he said.

The tribunal has adjourned until next Tuesday.