Property developer Mr Tom Gilmartin has told the Mahon tribunal of meeting the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, in 1987 to outline his plans to build a £100 million shopping centre in Dublin city centre.
Mr Ahern, who was minister for labour at the time, disputes the timing of the meeting. He insists it happened a year later than Mr Gilmartin claims.
This morning, the planning tribunal heard Mr Gilmartin's account of his preliminary discussions with Dublin Corporation over the development of a huge shopping complex on the north quays of the River Liffey.
The area earmarked for the multi-storey centre was a block bounded by Bachelor's Walk, Liffey Street, Abbey Street and O'Connell Street.
Mr Gilmartin said he was advised by the then Assistant Dublin City and County Manager, Mr Sean Haughey, to meet a number of Government ministers to inform them of the plans and to discuss the tax problems caused by the fact only half the land involved was designated under the Government's urban-renewal scheme. He said the then Minister for Finance, Mr Ray MacSharry, also advised him to consult politicians when he went to see him in his Co Sligo constituency office.
One minister he was told to contact was Mr Ahern, as the project had so much job creation potential, the tribunal was told. Mr Gilmartin said he met him at the Department of Labour on Mespil Row by arrangement and explained his plans. Mr Ahern was "quite enthusiastic", he said. Mr Gilmartin said Mr Ahern was aware that there were concerns over tax, but said: "I didn't ask for any favour or particularly ask him for help."
In his statement to the tribunal, Mr Ahern denies this meeting took place. He says the first time he met the developer was in late 1988.
When asked by Mr John Gallagher, SC for the tribunal, why there was this discrepancy in the two men's accounts, Mr Gilmartin answered: " I can't account for Bertie Ahern's memory or lack of it."
Prior to meeting Mr Ahern, Mr Gilmartin wrote to Mr Padraig Flynn's secretary at the Department of the Environment in October 1987 seeking a meeting with the Minister and the-then minister for finance, Mr McSharry.
Mr Gilmartin said he met Mr Flynn in his offices in Leinster House. He said he explained the project and raised the fact that only half the area was designated for urban renewal. The developer said he told the minister the designation would "be better expanded or removed altogether".
He said the minister's reaction was "reasonably enthusiastic" that someone was interested in investing so much money in Dublin during such an economically depressed time, but not as enthusiastic as he had expected. "I thought he would have been over the moon, but I didn't get that kind of response," Mr Gilmartin said. Mr Flynn was "non-committal" and said it would have to be discussed with the other relevant ministers.
Mr Flynn disputes the dates of this meeting. He said in his statement to the tribunal the first time he met Mr Gilmartin was in 1988. He denies ever being asked to intervene or make representations to other ministers over the Bachelor's Walk project.
Mr Gilmartin said he had a number of meetings with Mr Flynn over the next few months to "pressurise" him to extend the time limit on tax designation for the area. He was also seeking help on getting Dublin Corporation to impose a Compulsory Purchase Order on some of the properties he wanted to buy.
The tribunal also heard Mr Gilmartin was being paid a total of £250,000 by British property firm Arlington Securities to represent them in Ireland and "tee up" the project. He was to get £100,000 initially and £50,000 each year for three years "in respect of future promotion and implementation of the scheme both in the marketplace and politically". He was also promised 20 per cent of all future profits from rental income.
The tribunal heard that CIÉ were trying to build a new bus station in Temple Bar in 1987, but were forced to abandon the plans as they had run into too many difficulties.
Mr Gilmartin said Dublin Corporation suggested he negotiate with CIE to get them to use their compulsory purchase powers to buy the site in return for Arlington building the bus station. Mr Gilmartin said there was "political pressure" on him to include the station and he was informed by the Corporation that CIE had no money to build it themselves.
