The vote to establish the Citywest Business Park in Co Dublin was supported by a huge majority of Dublin county councillors in March 1991 despite strong objections from officials, according to the council's minutes.
There were 51 votes for the material contravention of the development plan with one vote against, by Cllr Bernie Malone, and one abstention, by Cllr Jane Dillon Byrne. The motion was proposed by Cllr James Daly and seconded by Cllr Colm McGrath.
As reported yesterday by The Irish Times, lobbyist Mr Frank Dunlop has a beneficial interest in the hugely successful 300-acre business park. The main figures involved are stockbrokers from Davy Stockbroking and clients of the company.
The county manager's report read to the March 1991 meeting where 122 acres (phase 1) were rezoned from agriculture to industrial argued that the development of the Citywest site would slow development at other, already established sites.
The roads engineer reported that phase one of the development would generate in the order of 8,000 traffic movements per day and that the development would lead to "significant deterioration" of traffic conditions.
"Having regard to all the factors, it is strongly recommended that the required resolution should not be passed."
Letters included with the minutes indicate money was paid by the developers to a local residents' association. On March 7th, 1991, Mr Benny Karstal and Ms Geraldine Karstal, of Kingswood, Clondalkin, wrote to object to the proposed development. Four days later, they wrote withdrawing their objection and stating that, having seen the plans, "we feel that this development is well designed, will be very upmarket and properly run".
"The developers have indicated to the residents' association that we, the residents, will have access to the sewerage system when it is installed. They have also lodged a sum of money in a joint account as a gesture of goodwill."
Ms Karstal said yesterday that she and her husband were not members of the residents' association and did not know how much had been lodged in the account. "We certainly never got anything out of it," she said.
A representative of the association could not be contacted.
Fianna Fail TD Mr Chris Flood said yesterday he believed he received £500 from Davy Hickey during the 1992 general election and that it was the only political donation he received from the backers of Citywest. He said he never received any money from Mr Dunlop. He had resigned from Dublin County Council a month before the rezoning vote.
Mr Pat Rabbitte TD, of the Labour Party, issued a statement yesterday saying it was not until he read The Irish Times that he learned that Mr Dunlop had been linked to a beneficial ownership in Citywest. Mr Rabbitte received £5,000 from the Citywest developers at the time of the European elections in 1994. An unsolicited cheque was sent by post to his Democratic Left campaign headquarters.
Mr Rabbitte said the March 1991 vote had all-party support and he rejected suggestions that his support had been pivotal. "Since the decision to rezone the lands three years earlier had all-party and all-councillor support, it can scarcely be suggested that my alleged pivotal support attracted the contribution."
He said any suggestion that the £5,000 contribution was so that he could designate the Citywest campus as the National Science Park a year later, when he had been appointed Minister of State for Commerce, Science and Technology, was "ludicrous".
