Tribunal set to complete Gogarty evidence

Sixteen months after Mr James Gogarty first came to the witness box, the Flood tribunal will attempt to complete the hearing …

Sixteen months after Mr James Gogarty first came to the witness box, the Flood tribunal will attempt to complete the hearing of evidence into his allegations this week.

The tribunal has scheduled a number of outstanding matters relating to Mr Gogarty's evidence for the coming week. This means that the lobbyist Mr Frank Dunlop is unlikely to resume his evidence to the tribunal for another few weeks at least.

However, Mr Dunlop has had intensive contact with tribunal lawyers in recent weeks and is expected to provide further evidence of corrupt payments involving politicians and developers when he returns to the stand.

Also this week, the tribunal plans to hear evidence on the leaking of confidential documents to the media in the early days of the tribunal. This may include the calling of Garda officers to report on the outcome of their investigations into the leaks, which were ordered by Mr Justice Flood in late 1998 and 1999.

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The developer Mr Tom Bailey and his wife, Caroline, will be called to resume their evidence today, following the failure of their Supreme Court action which sought to prevent the tribunal inquiring into their private financial affairs.

Tribunal lawyers argued successfully that the private financial affairs of the Baileys were so intermeshed with their company finances that it was impossible to trace possible payments to Mr Gogarty, the former Fianna Fail politician, Mr Ray Burke, or others without looking at the private accounts.

The tribunal will also hear Garda and Fire Brigade evidence regarding a fire at the site office of Bovale Developments, the company run by Mr Tom Bailey and Mr Michael Bailey, in Finglas. The Baileys say many of their financial records were destroyed in this blaze.

The Baileys' accountant, Mr Joe O'Toole, will also be called to resume his evidence. Other financial documentation belonging to the Baileys was destroyed in a flood at Mr O'Toole's office.

The remaining evidence in the Gogarty module concerns the bank accounts of Mr Joseph Murphy snr, the millionaire owner of JMSE, who lives in Guernsey.

Paul Cullen

Paul Cullen

Paul Cullen is a former heath editor of The Irish Times.