A Co Meath builder has denied that he told the media in advance of a High Court case that he would be making embarrassing revelations about certain politicians in the course of the proceedings.
In court yesterday, Mr James Robert Farrell, of Rockfield Road, Kells, agreed that reporters had attended the hearing of the action, in which he is a defendant, on March 16th but insisted he had not contacted them beforehand.
He also rejected suggestions that he had dragged the names of the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, ail Deputy TD Minister of State Ms Mary Wallace, ail TD and the Minister for the Marine, Dr Woods, into pre-trial correspondence to embarrass the two men bringing the action against him.
Mr Farrell and his company, Farrell Homes (Kells) Development Ltd, are being sued by financial consultant Mr Roderick Brennan of Ashbourne, Co Meath, and an engineer, Mr Ronald Bergin, of Taney Road, Dundrum, Dublin.
Both are claiming damages for financial and planning services which they say they provided to the defendants between 1991 and 1997.
Yesterday, Mr Farrell said both plaintiffs got £2,000 each in cash for their part in helping clear up a surface water problem he had on lands at Balreask, Navan. He said he was told a further £2,000 in cash was "for Bertie".
He said he was told the money was for Mr Ahern's election expenses and to "keep planning and zoning sweet".
Mr Rory Brady SC, for the plaintiffs, put to him this was "a complete fabrication". Mr Farrell said that was what he was told.
He agreed he had written a letter in September 1997 to the solicitor for both plaintiffs saying they were not getting any more money in view of their failure to honour promises.
In the letter, he said that Mr Brennan and Mr Bergin had promised him by virtue of their close contacts with Mr Ahern, Ms Wallace and Dr Woods that they would endeavour to get planning permission for his lands at Lloyd, Kells and Balreask, Navan.
But the plaintiffs were unsuccessful, Mr Farrell said. They had wasted his time and money and appeared to be more concerned with their own interest than his.
Mr Farrell, who said he was a former director of elections for the late Labour Minister, Mr James Tully, denied he wrote to the solicitor for the plaintiffs mentioning contacts with senior politicians when it appeared he was going to be sued.
It was not true that he had sought to embarrass the plaintiffs into not bringing these proceedings, he said.
The hearing is expected to conclude today.