Mahon tribunal:Frank Dunlop earned almost €2.3 million from Liffey Valley shopping centre development companies over a 10-year period, the tribunal heard yesterday.
Mr Dunlop, a former Fianna Fáil press secretary, was questioned yesterday in relation to his involvement in payments of thousands of pounds to politicians in connection with the shopping centre development, in west Dublin in the early 1990s.
Patricia Dillon SC, counsel for the tribunal, outlined 20 payments to two companies owned by Mr Dunlop- Frank Dunlop and Associates and Shefran Ltd - from companies owned by businessmen Tom Gilmartin and Owen O'Callaghan.
The two men were behind the Liffey Valley shopping centre development, known as the Quarryvale project, and operated two companies, Barkhill Ltd and Riga Ltd. The payments to Mr Dunlop's companies began in 1991 and ended in 2001. Those that were invoiced from Frank Dunlop and Associates had VAT charged and those that were invoiced from Shefran Ltd were round figure sums and had no VAT charged, Ms Dillon said.
She asked Mr Dunlop why he decided, in 1991, to transact payments in relation to Quarryvale through two different companies.
Mr Dunlop said Mr O'Callaghan had told him that Mr Gilmartin did not want him to have any involvement in Quarryvale and so it was agreed that he would invoice through Shefran Ltd. Ms Dillon pointed out that he was also invoicing through Frank Dunlop and Associates and so Mr Gilmartin must have known he was involved.
Mr Dunlop replied that Mr Gilmartin probably became aware of the payments within a month of when they began.
"I'm suggesting to you that the reason why you were invoicing through Shefran . . . you were setting about getting the rezoning of lands and you wanted untraceable money available to you," Ms Dillon said.
"The arrangement arrived at with Mr O'Callaghan was as I have outlined," Mr Dunlop replied. "I cannot and will not deny that at the time . . . it was my intention to use some of those funds for the purposes of paying councillors."
Ms Dillon said Mr Dunlop did not close his Shefran bank account until 1998, when he began to receive correspondence from the tribunal about Quarryvale.
He continued to receive payments with VAT in connection with the Quarryvale project until 2001, including assistance with his tribunal legal fees, Ms Dillon said.
His evidence will continue this afternoon.
