A leading builder, Mr Joe Tiernan, was said to have the power to "circumvent" a refusal of planning permission on land he was buying, it was claimed at the tribunal yesterday.
Solicitor Mr John Caldwell, one of the owners of the land Mr Tiernan was buying, told bank officials in 1991 he believed Mr Tiernan had "some method" of circumventing the refusal or having planning permission reinstated.
But Mr Caldwell told the officials from the Bank of Nova Scotia that he had no details of how Mr Tiernan might achieve this, according to a contemporary note made by the bank.
In 1987, Mr Larry Goodman advanced £350,000 to the former Fianna Fáil TD, Mr Liam Lawlor, to buy the land at Coolamber, near Lucan.
The new owners, Southfield Property Company, repaid Mr Goodman with a loan from the Bank of Nova Scotia, but the beef baron continued to pay the interest.
The land was purchased for £208,000 and, shortly after, Mr Tiernan agreed to buy it - with planning permission - for over £2 million. Dublin county councillors rezoned the land by Section 4 motion in 1990. However, Bord Pleanála reversed their decision the following year.
Mr Peter McCabe, a senior credit manager with the bank, recorded this reversal in a note he took of a meeting with Mr Caldwell in July 1991.
Yesterday, he told the tribunal detailed discussions had taken place at this meeting regarding Mr Tiernan's chances of getting planning permission. However, he could not remember the detail of the discussions.
Mr Des O'Neill SC, for the tribunal, asked if the witness was suggesting in his note whether there was anything abnormal about the methods Mr Tiernan might use.
Mr McCabe again said he could not recall the detail of the meeting. He did not have any view on whether the method used to circumvent planning would be normal or not.
In October 1991, Mr Caldwell told the bank an offshore structure was being set up for the deal, which would enable Mr Tiernan to avoid capital gains tax.
Between 1987 and 1991, the bank believed Mr Goodman owned Southfield.
In November 1991, however, solicitor Mr Noel Smyth revealed to the bank for the first time that Mr Goodman was not a shareholder in Southfield, which he said was actually owned by a solicitor (Mr Caldwell), "a well-known political figure" (Mr Lawlor) and another individual.
A 1991 memo from Mr McCabe recorded a meeting between a bank official and Mr Smyth, who was accompanied by a developer, Mr Gerry Gannon.
According to the note, Mr Smyth said Mr Gannon wished to take out an assignment of Mr Goodman's Bank of Nova Scotia loan and its security.
However, Mr Brian O'Moore SC, for Mr Gannon, said his client was "bemused" by this reference. Mr Gannon had no recollection of attending such a meeting and never had any interest in the land.
