Methods of lawyers for the tribunal criticised

Lawyers for one of the owners of Jackson Way have criticised the procedures adopted by the tribunal in its investigation of the ownership of the controversial property company.

Earlier this year, the tribunal heard from a Dublin solicitor, Mr Frank Friel, whose evidence appeared to show that Jackson Way did not have valid title to land it claimed to own at Carrickmines in south Dublin. Mr Friel handled the conveyancing of the Carrickmines land when the previous owner, Paisley Park, was liquidated.

Yesterday, at the resumption of evidence in this module, Mr Ian Finlay SC, for solicitor Mr John Caldwell, claimed the tribunal had followed an "inappropriate and irrelevant" procedure with Mr Friel. Mr Caldwell and businessman Mr Jim Kennedy have been linked to ownership of Jackson Way, which is at the centre of bribery claims in relation to attempts to rezone the Carrickmines lands in the 1990s.

Mr Finlay said Mr Friel should not have been invited by the tribunal to comment on correspondence to which he was not party. He claimed tribunal counsel Mr Des O'Neill SC had failed to put to Mr Friel relevant documents which were "crystal clear" in showing who owned the land.

However, Mr O'Neill denied the claim, saying Mr Friel had been provided with access to the entire brief of documents. The tribunal was not concealing documents or being selective, he said.

Later, an agricultural contractor, Mr Thomas Grimes, told the tribunal he rented the Carrickmines lands from Jackson Way in the 1990s. He said he and his business partner Mr Alex Hill rented 76 acres on a conacre basis in 1994. This arrangement continued at a rent of £70 an acre for two or three years, during which they grew linseed and wheat.

The arrangement came about after he contracted to buy a digger from Mr Kennedy, who told him he had land to rent in Carrickmines. He did not meet Mr Kennedy but dealt with his solicitors, who were based overseas. Later, Mr Hill told the tribunal that after two or three years of the conacre agreement, he was employed by Jackson Way to operate the lands for the company. This arrangement continued until about 2000.

After Mr Hill referred to contacts with Mr Kennedy during this period, Mr O'Neill pointed out that in his private interview with tribunal lawyers two years ago, Mr Hill had said he had no dealings with Mr Kennedy and only knew of his involvement in the land later through "rumour and innuendo".

The chairman, Judge Alan Mahon, said the tribunal believed there was a "significant inconsistency" between the two versions. Mr Hill apologised for "a lack of recollection". He was "just a farmer renting the lands" and had not wanted to "get involved". He had "no intention" of not telling the truth. Mr O'Neill said Mr Hill had known at all times of Mr Kennedy's involvement but did not tell the tribunal during his interview. Mr Hill said he passed this information to the tribunal in a subsequent letter. He denied Mr O'Neill's charge that he had been "somewhat coy" about disclosing the information.