The Flood Tribunal

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The Flood Tribunal 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 Floo... ... middle of paper ... ...s earlier. Mr Burke said he had since had discussions with a donor and now knew he had received a sum of £35,000 which he lodged in May, 1989. It also emerged that Mr.Burke had funds on deposit in special savings accounts after the 1989 general election, even though he told the Dáil that the campaign had left him in financial straits. So, as the Flood Tribunal enters its third year and after millions of pounds of tax payers money have been spent on legal fees and expenses, the general public is still no wiser as to what precisely took place at Mr Burke's house in June, 1989. Meanwhile, the tribunal has not yet begun investigating allegations by the UK-based Irish property developer, Tom Gilmartin about payments he made, including a claim that he gave the EU Commissioner, Pádraig Flynn, a £50,000 cheque in 1989.

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