Entries in Mr George Redmond's diary indicated he had significantly more meetings with Mr James Gogarty and Mr Michael Bailey in 1988 than he told the tribunal originally, counsel for the tribunal stated.
Mr Patrick Hanratty SC, disclosed more than 11 entries in Mr Redmond's diary showing appointments to meet Mr Bailey and Mr Gogarty.
He said this indicated that Mr Redmond was an "essential element" in the sale of the Forest Road lands by the Murphy group to Mr Bailey that year.
The planning permission for housing on these lands was about to expire during 1988 and this was an issue for the Murphy group and Mr Bailey, the tribunal was told.
Mr Hanratty asked Mr Redmond, considering there were planning issues surrounding the Forest Road site, whether it was advisable for him to receive a cash payment of £25,000 in 1988 from Mr Gogarty.
Mr Redmond said he had simply introduced Mr Bailey and Mr Gogarty. "They had negotiations and the outcome of the negotiations, rightly or wrongly, was that agreement on a sale resulted."
Mr Justice Flood asked Mr Redmond: "Why did you not hand it back and say, `No, no, I don't take that sort of thing?"'
"At that time I was absolutely satisfied in my own mind that I had done nothing which was unlawful," replied Mr Redmond.
Mr Redmond told the tribunal he was "surprised" his diary included such a large number of appointments with Mr Gogarty and Mr Bailey. The diary was removed from Mr Redmond's house originally by the Criminal Assets Bureau.
When asked what the meetings with Mr Bailey in early 1988 were about, Mr Redmond replied: "I don't know. I can remember the question of interest in lands, and it may well have been continued meetings about lands."
One of the appointments with Mr Bailey was for June 17th and Mr Hanratty asked Mr Redmond if the issue of Mr Bailey paying a local authority levy for Forest Road had come up.
Mr Redmond said it had not and Mr Hanratty replied that there was a "certain unreality" about such a statement.
Mr Hanratty said: "You weren't any ordinary Joe Soap going around giving people advice, you were the assistant Dublin city and county manager, you had a position of great responsibility and power. And it is in that context that I am trying to elicit from you what you were doing having these series of meetings with these people in these circumstances."
Mr Redmond replied: "I told you, Mr Hanratty, I told you so many times, the land, and in my earlier statement I did tell you why I had a special interest in the land from the council's point of view, you know, land acquisition in the long term and other reasons".
