An architect has told the Flood tribunal that at no time did he directly or indirectly offer any payment or inducement to councillors involving rezoning motions for lands at Carrickmines.
Mr Brian O'Halloran said he and two partners owned 22 acres in south Co Dublin and employed Mr Frank Dunlop to lobby for rezoning. They paid him £36,500 in fees but they did not know how he did it. "I never discussed with Frank Dunlop how he went about his business working on our behalf," Mr O'Halloran said.
He bought the lands with Dr Austin Darragh and Mr Gerard Kilcoyne in May 1978 for £130,000.
In November 1988, a farmer sold the adjoining 100 acres to Paisley Park and developer, Mr James Kennedy. Mr Kennedy told them he was seeking the rezoning of the land and they met him a number of times between then and 1993. Mr Kilcoyne had expressed concern about Mr Kennedy. In a memo dated June 14th, 1990, Mr Kilcoyne had written about him: "His reputation worries me. He is perceived as a hustler, a wheeler-dealer type who is probably devious and certainly litigious." It added: "Also, I don't like his possible involvement in the current county council scam."
Mr Pat Quinn SC, for the tribunal, asked Mr O'Halloran if Mr Kilcoyne had said what the scam might be. He said he recalled asking him but Mr Kilcoyne said he wasn't sure.
In 1991, Mr O'Halloran instructed a planning colleague to make a submission for the rezoning of the land from agricultural to residential or industrial. Mr Kennedy made a separate application. As they did not know many councillors, they engaged Mr Dunlop, he said.
In his statement to the tribunal, Mr O'Halloran said: "At no time was I approached by councillors or officials requesting any payment nor did I directly or indirectly offer any payment or inducement to them, nor did anybody request them."
The 1992 submission was unsuccessful. Mr O'Halloran said they were dissatisfied with Mr Dunlop then. "We set him off at his own pace and reporting back was not very satisfactory. Frank Dunlop did precious little for us in 1992," he said. On the need to lobby councillors, he said: "I came to that decision myself. If we wanted councillors to vote for our rezoning motion, it seemed sensible we should tell them about it." Asked why he employed him, Mr O'Halloran said: "Frank Dunlop had a high profile and was well connected politically. He had a reputation as a successful lobbyist and would have a feeling for property. He was very professional." Mr Quinn said Mr Dunlop was also lobbying for Mr Kennedy. "I don't know when I knew Mr Dunlop was involved with Mr Kennedy but we certainly knew it. The choice of Mr Dunlop was made by me in consultation with my colleagues, independent of any involvement he had with Mr Kennedy. . ."
His first meeting with Mr Dunlop was on March 31st, 1992, and he was asked to make the case for rezoning to every councillor.
"We didn't know how he was going to do it. We paid him the fee," he said. "Whatever he had to do and how he did it, it was up to him. He had a reputation of being good at the task." Mr Quinn asked: "Did Mr Kennedy ever advise you that he was giving money to Mr Dunlop to secure the votes of councillors?" Mr O'Halloran replied: "Had he done so, he never would have heard from us again."
In 1995, Paisley Park had transferred ownership of the 100 acres to Jackson Way. Other applications were made for rezoning but in May 1997, he and Mr Kilcoyne met Mr Dunlop again regarding another rezoning submission.The motion was carried in December 1997. Mr Dunlop was paid £5,000 as a fee and £30,000 as a success fee.