Fianna Fáil senator Mr Don Lydon today laughed off as "stupid" an incident in which he tried to grab a cheque paid by a developer to the Green Party's Mr Trevor Sargent.
Mr Sargent told RTÉ's Market Placeprogramme in February 1993 that he had been attacked in the Dublin County Council chamber after holding up the cheque, for £100, that he had received from a developer.
He said he asked if anyone else present had received such a payment, and was "jostled" and escorted from the chamber for his personal safety.
Senator Lydon today dismissed the incident as "exaggerated", although he admitted grabbing Mr Sargent by the shoulder from behind and trying to take the cheque from him. He didn't succeed and the meeting was adjourned.
He denied a suggestion from Mr Alan Mahon, one of the Flood tribunal judges, that there would indeed have been a "riot" if concillors had been asked if they had ever received similar cheques from developers.
Mr Lydon says he was "incensed" by Mr Sargent's action but did not regard it as an insult to other councillors.
Mr Lydon said he later apologised for the "stupid" action.
