The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments commonly known as the Mahon Tribunal after the name of its last chairman, was a
public inquiry
A tribunal of inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body. In many common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, Australia and Canada, such a public inquiry differs from a royal ...
in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
established by
Dáil Éireann
Dáil Éireann ( , ; ) is the lower house, and principal chamber, of the Oireachtas (Irish legislature), which also includes the President of Ireland and Seanad Éireann (the upper house).Article 15.1.2º of the Constitution of Ireland read ...
in 1997 to investigate allegations of
corrupt payments to politicians regarding political decisions.
It mostly investigated
planning permission
Planning permission or developmental approval refers to the approval needed for construction or expansion (including significant renovation), and sometimes for demolition, in some jurisdictions. It is usually given in the form of a building perm ...
s and
land rezoning issues in the 1990s in the
Dublin County Council
Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a local authority for the administrative county of County Dublin in Ireland.
History
The county council was established by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. Its headquart ...
area. Judge
Alan Mahon
Alan Joseph Mahon (born 4 April 1978) is an Irish former professional footballer who played a midfielder and was capped by the Republic of Ireland.
Playing career Club career Early career
Dublin-born Mahon, who was educated at St. James Str ...
was the final chair of the
tribunal
A tribunal, generally, is any person or institution with authority to judge, adjudicate on, or determine claims or disputes—whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title.
For example, an advocate who appears before a court with a single ...
and its other members were Judge
Mary Faherty and Judge
Gerald Keys. The original Chairman, who was the sole member until just before his retirement, was Judge
Feargus Flood
Feargus Michael Flood (2 July 1928 – 10 September 2022) was an Irish judge. A member of the High Court from 1991 to 2000, he chaired the Flood Tribunal which investigated allegations of corrupt payments to politicians.
Early life
Flood was ...
, giving rise to the original common name of the Flood Tribunal.
Using investigations to collect evidence and public hearings with witnesses, it investigated allegations made in the media prior to its establishment and allegations subsequently made to the tribunal itself. The tribunal ran from November 1997 to March 2012 and was the longest running and most expensive
public inquiry
A tribunal of inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body. In many common law countries, such as the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, Australia and Canada, such a public inquiry differs from a royal ...
held in the Republic of Ireland,
with costs forecast to reach between €250 million and €300 million.
[ Public hearings concluded in September 2008, and following several delays due to legal challenges, the tribunal began preparing its final report. It published four interim reports, and the final report was published on 22 March 2012.] On 2 April 2008, then-Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Bertie Ahern
Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...
resigned due to continuing controversy over the payments.
Background
Loughlinstown
Loughlinstown
Loughlinstown () is a southern Dublin suburb, located in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, on the N11 national road.
Loughlinstown is the location of St. Columcille's Hospital, which serves both south Dublin and Wicklow. The European Foundation for ...
was, prior to 1990 a scenic area directly south of Dublin city on the Wexford road, site of the first dual carriageway
A dual carriageway ( BE) or divided highway ( AE) is a class of highway with carriageways for traffic travelling in opposite directions separated by a central reservation (BrE) or median (AmE). Roads with two or more carriageways which are ...
in Ireland. In 1991, an intensive IR£
The pound (Irish: ) was the currency of the Republic of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the symbol was £ (or IR£ for distinction). The Irish pound was replaced by the euro on 1 January 1999. Euro currency did not begin cir ...
800,000 public relations
Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...
(PR) campaign to generate local support for the rezoning of hundreds of acres in Loughlinstown and nearby Cabinteely
Cabinteely () is a suburb of Dublin's southside. It is in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, County Dublin, Ireland.
Geography
Cabinteely lies around the crossroads of Johnstown Road / Brennanstown Road and the Old Bray Road, and on either side of the ...
was spearheaded by public relations consultant and sports broadcaster Bill O'Herlihy
Bill O'Herlihy (26 September 1938 – 25 May 2015) was an Irish television broadcaster and public relations executive. He was best known for his broadcasts for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ), primarily in the sporting arena. Presenter for 10 ...
and later by PR consultant and former political secretary Frank Dunlop. Some councillors
A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries.
Canada
Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...
firmly resisted the rezoning, supposedly concerned about the commercial and social welfare of nearby Dún Laoghaire
Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown.
The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...
but are alleged to have ensured that there was sufficient support from colleagues whose political bases were elsewhere. The rezoning was approved.
Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
politician Liam Lawlor
Liam Lawlor (1 October 1945 – 22 October 2005) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He resigned from the Fianna Fáil in 2000 following a finding by a party standards committee that he had failed to co-operate with its investigation into pla ...
was presented at a public meeting concerning nearby Cherrywood as his party's "planning expert".
£10,000 reward
There had long been speculation about the extent of corruption underlying these planning decisions, and there had been several Gardaí inquiries in the 1980s and 1990s but these failed to uncover evidence.
Michael Smith, later to become chairman of environmental body An Taisce
An Taisce – The National Trust for Ireland (; meaning "the store" or "the treasury"), established in June 1948, is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) active in the areas of the environment and built heritage in Ireland. It considers itself t ...
and barrister Colm Mac Eochaidh
Colm Mac Eochaidh (born 1963) is a judge of the General Court of the European Union. He was a judge of the Irish High Court from 2012 to 2017.
He was educated at Coláiste Eoin, University College Dublin and King's Inns. He qualified as a barr ...
, later a Fine Gael
Fine Gael (, ; English: "Family (or Tribe) of the Irish") is a liberal-conservative and Christian-democratic political party in Ireland. Fine Gael is currently the third-largest party in the Republic of Ireland in terms of members of Dáil ...
candidate in Dublin South-East in the 2002 general election now a High Court Judge, in 1995 co-sponsored a £10,000 reward for information leading to convictions for planning corruption.
James Gogarty, a retired employee of construction firm JSME, responded with information about payments to Ray Burke, a Government Minister and former Chairman of Dublin County Council.
Establishment
During the formation of the new Ahern Government in June 1997, questions about the suitability of the appointment of Burke as a minister were raised. Ahern asked Dermot Ahern
Dermot Christopher Ahern (born 20 April 1955) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for Justice and Law Reform from 2008 to 2011, Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2008, Minister for Communications, Marine a ...
to investigate, and defended Burke, saying "I've looked up every tree in North Dublin". Burke was appointed to the Government but resigned in September following further public revelations and questions. This increased pressure on the Government to investigate. The tribunal was formally established on 4 November 1997 to investigate the Gogarty allegations, and also any acts related to planning processes which might have involved corruption.
The terms dictated that the Tribunal would enquire into payments to Ray Burke in the course of his long political career and examine the decisions he had made in broadcasting as well as in planning.
The government had just months earlier also established the separate Moriarty Tribunal
The Moriarty Tribunal, officially called the Tribunal of Inquiry into certain Payments to Politicians and Related Matters, was an Irish Tribunal of Inquiry established in 1997 into the financial affairs of politicians Charles Haughey and Michael ...
to investigate payments to politicians Charles Haughey
Charles James Haughey (; 16 September 1925 – 13 June 2006) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach on three occasions – 1979 to 1981, March to December 1982 and 1987 to 1992. He was also Minister for the Gaeltacht from ...
and Michael Lowry
Michael Lowry (born 13 March 1953) is an Irish Independent politician who has served as a Teachta Dála (TD) since 1987, currently for the Tipperary constituency. He previously served as Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications from 1 ...
Modules
The Tribunal has organised its investigations into discrete modules:
* The Carrickmines I Module / Jackson Way, 20 November 2002 – 16 December 2003
* The Fox and Mahoney Module, 24 October 2003 – 4 December 2003
* The St Gerard's Bray Module, 24 October 2003 – 4 December 2003
* The Carrickmines II Module and related issues 20 January 2004 – 13 February 2004
* The Carrickmines II Module, Phase 2, Coolamber lands – witness examination pending
* The Arlington / Quarryvale I Module, 3 March 2004 – July 2004
* The Quarryvale II Module (hearings adjourned until further notice pending outcome of High Court application)
* The Cherrywood Module, May 2006 – ?
* The Walls'/Kinsealy Module, July 2006
* The Lissenhall Module, September 2006
* The alleged payment of £10,000 in cash by Frank Dunlop to councillors in respect of the rezoning of land at Cargobridge, close to Dublin Airport
Dublin Airport (Irish language, Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (Irish company), DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinsto ...
, 19 September 2006. The rezoning proposal, for industry and air freight warehousing, was passed by a 51–0 in March 1993 despite strong opposition from Aer Rianta
DAA (styled "daa"), previously Dublin Airport Authority, is a commercial semi-state airport company in Ireland. The company owns and operates Dublin Airport and Cork Airport. Its other subsidiaries include the travel retail business Aer Rianta ...
.
Witnesses
In the course of its investigations, the tribunal has communicated with and cross-examined in public hundreds of witnesses. Among the most notable were:
James Gogarty
One of the leading witnesses in the early days was James Gogarty. Gogarty, born in Kells, County Meath
County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the sou ...
was of advanced age at the start of the Tribunal. For this reason, the evidence from Gogarty was of concern, from the beginning, in case his health failed. Gogarty was a former Garda. He then trained as an Engineer, worked as a foreman, before being promoted as a long-term executive at construction company Joseph Murphy Structural Engineers (JMSE) who had responded to the 1995 reward offer stating that he had witnessed a bribe of £30,000 being paid in cash to Minister Burke. Gogarty, by now in dispute with his former employers, claimed the payment was in seeking Burke's influence to secure approval to rezone of land at several locations in north Dublin, including Finglas
Finglas (; ) is a northwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It lies close to Junction 5 of the M50 motorway, and the N2 road. Nearby suburbs include Glasnevin and Ballymun; Dublin Airport is to the north. Finglas lies mainly in the posta ...
, Ballymun
Ballymun () is an outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland, at the northern edge of the Northside, the green-field development of which began in the 1960s to accommodate a housing crisis in inner city areas of Dublin. While the newly built housing was ...
, Balgriffin
Balgriffin ( ga, Baile Ghrífín, meaning "Griffin's town") is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It lies within southern Fingal in the traditional County Dublin and it is partly in the jurisdiction of Dublin City Council and partly that of Fingal C ...
, Portmarnock
Portmarnock () is a coastal suburban settlement in Fingal, Ireland, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , the population was ...
and Donabate
Donabate () is a small coastal town in Fingal, Ireland, about north-northeast of Dublin. The town is on a peninsula on Ireland's east coast, between the Rogerstown Estuary to the north and Broadmeadow Estuary to the south. Donabate is a civil ...
. The lands in questions were the subject of a joint development involving JMSE, Michael Bailey, and his brother Tom Bailey. Gogarty also provided evidence of payments to George Redmond, Dublin Corporation manager.
Gogarty was outspoken in his criticism of his employers, several politicians, and the entire planning process. The Irish Independent referred to Gogarty's courage, in calling him "the plucky pensioner". Gogarty received much support from the public gallery during his participation in the Tribunal. Gogarty died on 15 September 2005.
Ray Burke
The Tribunal's inquiries between 1997 and 2002 comprised what were in effect three Public Inquiries, that covered topics as diverse as land rezoning, radio broadcasting and offshore trusts and corporations.
The Tribunal reported in September 2002 that the payments received by Burke amounted to corrupt payments. The Report also cited witnesses who obstructed and hindered its work over the prior five years.
* Burke did not purchase his home, Briargate, in 1973 as a normal commercial transaction but a benefit conferred to ensure that Burke would act in the best interests of Oakpark Developments when performing his public duties.
* Burke opened and maintained offshore bank
An offshore bank is a bank regulated under international banking license (often called offshore license), which usually prohibits the bank from establishing any business activities in the jurisdiction of establishment. Due to less regulation and ...
accounts in the Isle of Man
)
, anthem = "O Land of Our Birth"
, image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg
, image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg
, mapsize =
, map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe
, map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green)
in Europe ...
for the purpose of receiving and concealing corrupt payments.
* Burke received a corrupt payment of £35,000 on 26 May 1989 in connection with the granting of a broadcasting license to Century Radio
Century Radio, also known as ''Century 100'' and later ''Century FM'', was a short-lived national commercial radio station in the Republic of Ireland, broadcasting from 4 September 1989 to 19 November 1991.
History Launch
Launched at 8am on M ...
.
* The payment to Burke on 15 June 1989 which James Gogarty witnessed was not a political donation but was paid to secure Burke's political support and was a corrupt payment
George Redmond
George Redmond
George Redmond (c. 1924 – 17 February 2016) was an Irish Assistant City and County Manager until his retirement on 23 June 1989 at the age of 65. He spent his entire career working for the Dublin local authorities commencing as a clerk in Dublin ...
was Assistant City and County Manager at Dublin Corporation
Dublin Corporation (), known by generations of Dubliners simply as ''The Corpo'', is the former name of the city government and its administrative organisation in Dublin since the 1100s. Significantly re-structured in 1660-1661, even more sign ...
in 1988. A planning application had been lodged with Dublin County Council
Dublin County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Bhaile Átha Cliath) was a local authority for the administrative county of County Dublin in Ireland.
History
The county council was established by the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898. Its headquart ...
on 1 October 1982 to build 206 houses at Forrest Road Swords
A sword is a cutting and/or thrusting weapon.
Sword, Swords, or The Sword may also refer to:
Places
* Swords, Dublin, a large suburban town in the Irish capital
* Swords, Georgia, a community in the United States
* Sword Beach, code name for ...
. A 5-year Planning Permission was approved.
James Gogarty deposed on 12 October 1998 that Redmond had received payments from Mr Joseph Murphy. The Tribunal investigated these payments and concluded.:
* That Redmond devised a strategy which resulted in the service charge and levies payable upon the development of lands at Forrest Road being fixed at their 1983 level for a period of two years after the expiry of the Planning Permission on 21 June 1988
* Redmond demanded 10% of the savings achieved by following his strategy as payment for his services
* If a new planning application was made without his assistance, the service charges and levies would be fixed at least 100% more than those fixed in 1983.
* That Redmond received a payment of no less than £12,246 for his service from Murphy and this was a corrupt payment
* Murphy paid Redmond £15,000 at Clontarf Castle Hotel in July 1989 as compensation for not appointing him as a consultant to the Murphy landowning companies after his retirement from Dublin County Council but this was not a corrupt payment
* Michael Bailey made 3 cash payments to Redmond in the 18 months prior to July 1989 and these were corrupt payments.
* That Redmond hindered and obstructed the Tribunal
The finding of corruption by the Planning Tribunal was withdrawn in the High Court by the Tribunal on 19 December 2014
Bertie Ahern
Following allegations that he had received payments from developer Owen O'Callaghan, the tribunal began an investigation of the finances of then Taoiseach
The Taoiseach is the head of government, or prime minister, of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the president of Ireland upon the nomination of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...
Bertie Ahern
Bartholomew Patrick "Bertie" Ahern (born 12 September 1951) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1997 to 2008, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1994 to 2008, Leader of the Opposition from 1994 to 1997, Tánaiste a ...
. Ahern and O'Callaghan denied that any such payments had taken place. Details of specific transactions under investigation were leaked to the press and questions were asked in the Dáil. During a September 2006 interview with RTÉ's Bryan Dobson
Bryan David Dobson (born 10 February 1960) is an Irish journalist, newscaster and presenter with RTÉ in Ireland. He currently presents the RTÉ: News at One. He previously presented '' RTÉ News: Six One,'' '' RTÉ News: Nine O'Clock'', most r ...
Ahern denied that he had received any illegal payments and claimed that some of the transactions related to unsolicited dig-outs from friends during his legal separation
Legal separation (sometimes judicial separation, separate maintenance, divorce ', or divorce from bed-and-board) is a legal process by which a married couple may formalize a separation while remaining legally married. A legal separation is gra ...
proceedings in 1993 and 1994. Further transactions relating to the purchase of his house and foreign currency conversions became public during the lead up to the 2007 general election. The tribunal postponed sittings for the duration of the campaign. Ahern was re-elected Taoiseach and attended the tribunal for witness questioning in September and December 2007 and February 2008.
During a heated exchange between Ahern and Judge Mahon on 22 February 2008, Ahern stated that his former partner, Celia Larkin, received a loan of IR£
The pound (Irish: ) was the currency of the Republic of Ireland until 2002. Its ISO 4217 code was IEP, and the symbol was £ (or IR£ for distinction). The Irish pound was replaced by the euro on 1 January 1999. Euro currency did not begin cir ...
30,000 from a special Fianna Fáil
Fianna Fáil (, ; meaning 'Soldiers of Destiny' or 'Warriors of Fál'), officially Fianna Fáil – The Republican Party ( ga, audio=ga-Fianna Fáil.ogg, Fianna Fáil – An Páirtí Poblachtánach), is a conservative and Christian- ...
fundraising account to buy a house. After the exchange, opposition leaders called for the Taoiseach's resignation. On 20 March Ahern's former secretary, Gráinne Carruth, was forced, on evidence presented to her by the tribunal, to accept as a matter of probability that a lodgement of 15,000 pounds she had made into an account on Ahern's behalf had been in sterling. This directly contradicted to Ahern's previous assertion that the money was from his salary. Carruth had also broken down while making this admission, whereas she had previously backed up Ahern's testimony, provoking condemnation of Ahern for betraying her loyalty by forcing her to go through with her appearance. On 2 April, Ahern announced his intention to resign from the position of Taoiseach, effective 6 May 2008.
Other witnesses
* Frank Dunlop, PR adviser who in 2000 on the advice of Mr. Justice Flood reflected overnight on his evidence and on the following day began to reveal the monies he had paid to various politicians on behalf of his clients, developers seeking rezoning. He was brought to the attention of the Tribunal by Tom Gilmartin, who alleged that he was a bag-man for developers looking to pay bribes to corrupt politicians in return for favours, an allegation Dunlop denied until he realised he could not credibly explain away his expenditure for so much money after the Tribunal produced evidence of an undisclosed account he held in Terenure. His evidence was central to the tribunal findings of corruption, though there are doubts about the veracity of the evidence he has given since his 2000 revelations.
* Liam T. Cosgrave, former Fine Gael politician, who admitted he had received payments from Frank Dunlop. His case is going through the courts.
* Liam Lawlor
Liam Lawlor (1 October 1945 – 22 October 2005) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He resigned from the Fianna Fáil in 2000 following a finding by a party standards committee that he had failed to co-operate with its investigation into pla ...
, former Fianna Fáil politician
* Property developers, such as Tom Gilmartin, the Bailey Brothers, Joseph Murphy, Oliver Barry
* Various Dublin local councillors
* Pádraig Flynn
Pádraig Flynn (born 9 May 1939) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as European Commissioner for Social Affairs from 1993 to 1999, Minister for Industry and Commerce and Minister for Justice from 1992 to 1993, Minister for th ...
regarding IR£50,000 received from Tom Gilmartin who claimed it was for Fianna Fáil not Flynn personally.
* Ann Devitt a Fine Gael councillor in Fingal, acted on behalf of builder Joe Moran in 2002, and received €20,000. She was chair of the health board when the developer needed road access through health board lands for development of land for industry at Lissenhall.
* Fine Gael TD Olivia Mitchell
Olivia Mitchell (born 31 July 1947) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin South (Dáil constituency), Dublin South constituency from 1997 to 2016.
Mitchell was born in Birr, County Offaly, Bi ...
was found to have received an inappropriate payment of £500 from Frank Dunlop.
* The former Ceann Comhairle
The (; "Head of heCouncil"; plural usually ) is the chairperson (or speaker) of , the lower house of the (parliament) of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the from among their number in the first session a ...
Seán Barrett, TD was cleared of any wrongdoing after the Tribunal of enquiry.
Outcomes
Corruption findings against councillors
Findings of corruption were made against 11 councillors, due to court proceedings only 6 were named Fianna Fáil's Pat Dunne (Deceased), Finbarr Hanrahan, Cyril Gallagher and G. V. Wright
Thomas Wright, usually referred to by the nickname G.V., (born 3 August 1947) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North (Dáil constituency), Dublin North constituency.
Wright was born in Dubli ...
, Fine Gael's Tom Hand, Labour's John O'Halloran.
Prison sentences
George Redmond and Ray Burke have served prison sentences for tax evasion. Liam Lawlor has served three prison sentences for non-co-operation.
Tax yields
The Tribunal had cost the State €21 million by 2002 but €34.5 million was recovered by the Revenue Commissioners
The Revenue Commissioners ( ga, Na Coimisinéirí Ioncaim), commonly called Revenue, is the Irish Government agency responsible for customs, excise, taxation and related matters. Though Revenue can trace itself back to predecessors (with the A ...
and the Criminal Assets Bureau
The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) ( ga, An Biúró um Shócmhainní Coiriúla) is a law enforcement agency in Ireland. The CAB was established with powers to focus on the illegally acquired assets of criminals involved in serious crime. The aims ...
.
The Bailey brothers and their company, Bovale Developments reached a settlement with the Revenue Commissioners in respect of PAYE
A pay-as-you-earn tax (PAYE), or pay-as-you-go (PAYG) in Australia, is a withholding of taxes on income payments to employees. Amounts withheld are treated as advance payments of income tax due. They are refundable to the extent they exceed tax as ...
, PRSI, Corporation Tax
A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax, is a direct tax imposed on the income or capital of corporations or analogous legal entities. Many countries impose such taxes at the national level, and a similar tax may be imposed at ...
and Income Tax
An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...
in 2006.
Jackson Way assets
The Criminal Assets Bureau
The Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) ( ga, An Biúró um Shócmhainní Coiriúla) is a law enforcement agency in Ireland. The CAB was established with powers to focus on the illegally acquired assets of criminals involved in serious crime. The aims ...
successfully obtained a High Court order on 26 July 2006 freezing land assets of at Carrickmines
Carrickmines () is an outer suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The area, still semi-rural, was historically on the border of English control and featured a defensive construction, Carrickmines Castle, which became the subjec ...
, County Dublin
"Action to match our speech"
, image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Dublin.svg
, map_alt = map showing County Dublin as a small area of darker green on the east coast within the lighter green background of ...
owned by Jackson Way Properties Ltd and preventing their sale. CAB contended that these lands had been rezoned by a 13–11 vote on 16 December 1997 by Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Dhún Laoghaire–Ráth an Dúin) is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is one of three local authorities that s ...
from agricultural to industrial after Frank Dunlop bribed
Bribery is the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official, or other person, in charge of a public or legal duty. With regard to governmental operations, essentially, bribery is "Corr ...
and made corrupt payments to councillors to secure their support in the rezoning vote. That vote, for example, increased the value of just of the property from €8 million to €61 million. CAB has interviewed and taken statements from Frank Dunlop and will use him as a witness against a number of property developers.
The lands in question have been the subject of investigation by the Tribunal in 2003 and 2004.
If this case succeeds the potential money realised by CAB will be substantially more than the yield from gangland criminals since 1996. Other similar cases are likely to ensue involving lands investigated by the Tribunal.
Reports and findings
The inquiry published four interim reports, confirming corruption in the planning process, before its final report.
First interim report
The first Interim report lays out the work of the Tribunal for the coming years. It was published just after the then Flood Tribunal began its work.
Second interim report
The second Interim Report was published in September 2002. It reported findings related to the first three modules, Gogarty, McGowan and Century Radio/Ray Burke. It is the most substantial of the reports thus far, and caused massive controversy at the time of its publication.
Third interim report
The third Interim Report of the Tribunal was published on 30 September 2002 by Mr Justice Fergus Flood. It deals mainly with the activities of George Redmond.
Fourth interim report
The fourth Interim report informed the Oireachtas
The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:
*The President of Ireland
*The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...
of the extent of the workload of the Tribunal and its likely duration, to inform the Oireachtas of the Tribunal's respectful request for amendments to the current Terms of Reference and to inform the Oireachtas of other matters related to the work of the Tribunal which the Tribunal deems may be relevant to the Oireachtas.
Final report
The final report was published on 22 March 2012.[ The Irish Government then referred the 3,270-page report to the Garda Commissioner, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Revenue Commissioners and to the Standards in Public Office Commission. On corruption in public life, Judge Mahon stated in the report that: "It continued because nobody was prepared to do enough to stop it. This is perhaps inevitable when corruption ceases to become an isolated event and becomes so entrenched that it is transformed into an acknowledged way of doing business. Specifically, because corruption affected every level of Irish political life, those with the power to stop it were frequently implicated in it."
It found that former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern failed to "truthfully" explain source of money and it rejected his evidence of "dig-outs", and that former EU Commissioner Pádraig Flynn "wrongly and corruptly" sought donation from Tom Gilmartin.][ It stated that a decision in 1992 by ]Pat Rabbitte
Pat Rabbitte (born 18 May 1949) is an Irish former Labour Party politician who served as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources from 2011 to 2014, Leader of the Labour Party from 2002 to 2007 and a Minister of State from 199 ...
, then a Democratic Left TD, to return a donation of IR£2,000 to Frank Dunlop was "commendable and correct".[
Five councillors are specifically named as having received corrupt payments. These are Fianna Fáil councillors Tony Fox, Colm McGrath, ]Don Lydon
Donal John Lydon (born 7 August 1938 in Dublin) is a psychologist and a former Irish politician. He was a Fianna Fáil member of Seanad Éireann from 1987 to 2007, being elected on the Labour Panel.
Professional career
Lydon was educated at St E ...
and G. V. Wright
Thomas Wright, usually referred to by the nickname G.V., (born 3 August 1947) is an Irish former Fianna Fáil politician. He was a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dublin North (Dáil constituency), Dublin North constituency.
Wright was born in Dubli ...
; and Fine Gael's Tom Hand.
It established that Davy Stockbrokers
Davy Group is Ireland's largest stockbroker, wealth manager, asset manager and financial advisor and has offices in Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Galway and London. Davy offers services to private clients, small businesses, corporations and institution ...
, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, made a series of payments to the corrupt politician Liam Lawlor
Liam Lawlor (1 October 1945 – 22 October 2005) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He resigned from the Fianna Fáil in 2000 following a finding by a party standards committee that he had failed to co-operate with its investigation into pla ...
.
In 1993, the then Taoiseach Albert Reynolds
Albert Martin Reynolds (3 November 1932 – 21 August 2014) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as Taoiseach from 1992 to 1994, Leader of Fianna Fáil from 1992 to 1994, Minister for Finance from 1988 to 1991, Minister for Industry ...
and Bertie Ahern, who was then Minister for Finance
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...
, wrote to developer Owen O'Callaghan seeking a substantial donation. At the time O'Callaghan was heavily involved in lobbying for state support for a stadium project at Neilstown, County Dublin. According to the report, O'Callaghan felt compelled to donate a sum of IR£80,000 to Fianna Fáil in order to get funding for the stadium. The Mahon Tribunal said it did not find the payment to be corrupt. However, the report said pressurising a businessman to donate money when he was seeking support for a commercial project was "entirely inappropriate, and was an abuse of political power and government authority".
The main recommendations of the report are: more robust whistleblower legislation; a new planning regulator to give direction to local and regional planning authorities; new limits on political donations; a new register of lobbyists; expanded disclosure requirements for public officials; and a ban on members of the Oireachtas
The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of:
*The President of Ireland
*The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...
who are convicted of bribery from holding public office.
Fallout of final report
After the publication of the final report, Fianna Fáil sought to expel any of its members that were found to have received corrupt payments. Bertie Ahern, Pádraig Flynn, G. V. Wright, Don Lydon, Finbarr Hanrahan and John Hannon all resigned from Fianna Fáil before they could be expelled. Fine Gael Councillor Anne Devitt said she was stepping aside from her party, while it carries out its own internal inquiries into the tribunal's findings.[
]
See also
*Public inquiries in the Republic of Ireland
In Ireland, there are several kinds of public inquiry. A Tribunal of Inquiry, often simply called a tribunal, is a powerful type of statutory inquiry whose procedures are governed by the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) Act 1921 as amended.Citizens ...
* Brian McCracken (McCracken Tribunal)
*Moriarty Tribunal
The Moriarty Tribunal, officially called the Tribunal of Inquiry into certain Payments to Politicians and Related Matters, was an Irish Tribunal of Inquiry established in 1997 into the financial affairs of politicians Charles Haughey and Michael ...
References
{{reflist
External links
Tribunal website
Final report of the Mahon Tribunal
Irish Times: The Terrible Legacy of Corrupt Quarryvale Rezoning
1997 establishments in Ireland
2012 disestablishments in Ireland
Bertie Ahern
History of Fianna Fáil
Politics of the Republic of Ireland
Public inquiries in Ireland