Payment of #2,500 not declared

THE FLOOD TRIBUNAL: Mr Liam Cosgrave could face serious penalties after acknowledging that he failed to disclose a £2,500 payment from Mr Frank Dunlop under ethics legislation only six months after receiving it.

Mr Cosgrave told the tribunal the reason he hadn't declared the contribution to the Public Offices Commission, which was made in July 1997, was because he thought he "wasn't over the limit".

Under the Electoral Act 1997, all members of the Oireachtas have to declare contributions of more than £500. At the time, Mr Cosgrave was a member of the Seanad.

Mr John Gallagher SC, for the tribunal, said non-declaration was a "very serious matter". He reminded Mr Cosgrave that failure to comply with the legislation could result in a fine of €20,000 on indictment and/or up to three years in jail.

Mr Cosgrave however said he believed he had taken "all reasonable action". After he told the Fine Gael inquiry in May 2000 that he had received "£500- £1,000" in election contributions from Mr Dunlop in 1997, the commission wrote asking him to clarify the position. He replied saying he had received no payments over the £500 threshold in 1997.

Yesterday, it emerged that he now acknowledges receiving £2,500. He lodged £500 of this and used the rest for election expenses. Asked to explain why he did not declare this to the Public Offices Commission, Mr Cosgrave said he thought the amount was less. When he checked his bank accounts, he saw the £500 amount and believed he wasn't over the limit.

Mr Gallagher asked if he had contacted the Public Offices Commissioner since finding out the actual amount. Mr Cosgrave said he hadn't, but he probably should have done so.

Earlier, he said he believed he had co-operated fully with the tribunal and had nothing to hide.

His assertion came as tribunal lawyers repeatedly asked why he had not answered the questions he was asked when first contacted about the allegations made by Mr Dunlop.

At one point last year, Mr Cosgrave was summonsed to appear before the tribunal after he failed to comply with repeated requests for a detailed statement. He did eventually file a statement, but yesterday Mr Gallagher said it failed to answer the questions asked.

Mr Cosgrave said he never asked his Fine Gael colleagues on the council to support a rezoning. He might have spoken at meetings on such matters, but he did not individually canvass members.

There was no consensus in Fine Gael binding members in any way on rezoning and no "system". He didn't believe there was a whip system in any other party, apart from Labour, whose councillors "opposed everything".

Asked if he had ever seen a member of Dublin County Council do a head count of those present at a meeting in advance of a vote, he said he hadn't. He never heard of such a thing.

Asked if he had ever heard of allegations of corruption on the council, he said he had not until recently, apart from an incident in which a Green Party councillor made an allegation at a meeting.

Mr Cosgrave said he didn't remember a series of articles on planning corruption in The Irish Times in the early 1990s. He wasn't aware either of Garda investigations in the 1980s and 1990s.

Neither was he aware of a speech by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Smith, in which he referred to planning in Dublin as a "debased currency". He did not agree with this view. "As far as I was concerned, all county councillors did the best for their area."

His main hobby, he said, was horse racing. On some occasions, such as when a £90 bet earned him £9,000, some of this money could have gone into his accounts.

He also earned cash payments through his work as a solicitor; if a revenue issue arose as a result of these, it would have to be dealt with.

Mr Cosgrave said there had been no legal requirement until recently for politicians to keep financial records. The impression might have been given that because he hadn't kept records, this might have been underhand, but this wasn't the position.