Days before he retired from a lengthy career with Dublin County Council, Mr George Redmond agreed a land acquisition deal that left him "overjoyed" and "over the moon".
So good was the purchase price he agreed with the seller, Mr Michael Bailey, in June 1989 that Mr Redmond "almost felt a little guilty over it". "It was daylight robbery" and "a feather in my cap", he told the tribunal yesterday.
Mr Redmond proudly explained how he "browbeat" Mr Bailey into selling the land, which was zoned amenity, for £30,000 to create a riverside park near Swords. So anxious was he to seal the deal that he agreed to the offer on the same day Mr Bailey brought the letter to his office. He consulted with no one, left no notes, sought no valuation and did not even know whether the land comprised eight or nine acres.
There was, however, a fly in the ointment. Only two months before, the lands had been professionally valued at only £14,000, Mr Pat Hanratty SC, for the tribunal, pointed out. The land, swampy and uneven, had little development potential, the valuer had concluded.
Furthermore, after Mr Redmond retired, Mr Bailey claimed the two men had agreed as part of the Swords deal to write off £18,000 in levies due on another housing scheme in Blanchardstown.
Yesterday the witness said he was "absolutely certain" he did not agree to this. "It simply wasn't in my powers to waive a levy."
However, the council did waive the levy, as well as paying £39,000 for the Swords lands, a price set by a council valuation in 1990. Mr Bailey, ever the man to drive a hard bargain, won hands down.
So instead of getting the land for £14,000 the council ended up spending £57,000. The feather in Mr Redmond's cap came with a far higher price tag than originally envisaged.
Mr Hanratty said it was unprecedented in the history of the county council to process such a land purchase on the same day a price was set.
During the negotiations, the council originally tried to set off the price Mr Bailey sought for the land against the levies due on a housing development in Forest Road in Swords. Mr Bailey had acquired the riverside land as an "add-on" to the valuable Forest Road lands he bought from the Murphy Group in 1988.
But Mr Bailey refused all Mr Redmond's entreaties to set off the price against the levies. With hindsight, it is not hard to see why: the seller, the Murphy Group, had already paid the levies on Forest Road.
The evidence adduced yesterday adds further to the murk surrounding the Forest Road deal. Mr James Gogarty has alleged Mr Redmond was given a cut on the savings made by Murphys for planning advice he gave on these lands, a claim the retired official has denied.
The tribunal now plans to recall Mr Bailey for more questions on the matter. It also intends to call the other council officials who were involved in valuing and acquiring the riverside land.
A further discrepancy arose in the morning between Mr Redmond's evidence and a statement newly furnished by his friend and neighbour, Mr Gerald Brady. This appears to indicate that Mr Brady introduced Mr Redmond to Mr Bailey at a meeting in Mr Brady's home in 1990. Mr Redmond says he already knew Mr Bailey by that stage, though he does not dispute that there was a meeting in Mr Brady's home at some stage.
The witness said Mr Brady's statement was "manifestly incorrect". He agreed, however, that he did provide his neighbour with information about the council's plans for compulsory purchase orders on the Navan Road. Mr Brady's garage business on the road faced severe disruption as a result of these plans.
Mr Garrett Cooney SC, for the Murphy Group, having completed an uneventful cross-examination yesterday afternoon, lawyers for Mr Gogarty have started to question Mr Redmond, who is expected to complete his evidence today.