The Flood Tribunal
A Tale of Three Witnesses
by Vivienne Traynor
1. Liam Lawlor The revelations by spin-doctor Frank Dunlop were the real turning point for the Flood Tribunal in 2000. Initially, Mr Dunlop handled the tribunal's question with ease, but after a grilling by the Tribunal Chairman, when he threatened Mr Dunlop with the possibility of a spell in prison, he appeared to crack.
In a memorable day for Tribunal stalwarts and the watching public, the political lobbyist finally appeared to crack. In April, after two and a half years of legal sparring, the tribunal finally discovered something people had long suspected. Mr Dunlop admitted that certain politicians were taking cash for votes on rezoning.
He wrote the names of 15 politicians, who had taken sums ranging from £500 to £40,000, and he made particular mention to a very powerful, Mr Big. The journalists were ecstatic and Frank McDonald, the Irish Times Environment Correspondent, brought in clippings, which referred to politicians pocketing brown paper bags back in the early 90s.
Liam Lawlor immediately denied that he was the "Mr Big" who pocketed the most from Dunlop's generous sponsors, but this didn't stop Fianna Fail from launching an investigation into Mr Lawlor. After a lengthy grilling by party colleagues, Liam Lawlor ended up leaving the party. (Fine Gael also launched a set of internal inquiries into the payments.)
Mr Lawlor denying any wrongdoing, however, and he promised that he would reveal all and clear his name at the Flood Tribunal. But he was not forthcoming, according to the Tribunal, and he made several trips to both the High Court and the Supreme Court to set the boundaries for Flood Tribunal's inquiry into his affairs.
Liam Lawlor finally showed up in Dublin Castle on foot of a summons in November. After many appeals, the courts ordered him to go back before the Tribunal, to produce documents and to tell, not only about the Dunlop payments but about many more payments he received. Mr Lawlor was hardly cowed into submission, but did admit that he had cashed checks up to £38,000 with a Dublin publican. Mr Lawlor was stood down as a witness and contempt proceedings against him for refusing to answer questions are to be heard against him on New Year's Eve.
