Frank Dunlop: the charges he faces

1. That on June 11th, 1992, at his office, he corruptly gave £1,000 to councillor Seán Gilbride of Fianna Fáil as an inducement to secure his vote in favour of a motion before Dublin City Council to rezone 108 acres of land for industrial use at Carrickmines, in the county development plan.

2. That between June 12th, 1992, and June 29th, 1992, at Conway's pub on Parnell Street, he corruptly gave £1,000 to councillor Jack Larkin of Fianna Fáil (now deceased) to secure his vote in favour of a motion to rezone 108 acres at Carrickmines.

3. That on a date between June 12th, 1992, and June 29th, 1992, in Dublin, he corruptly gave £1,000 to councillor Cyril Gallagher of Fianna Fáil (now deceased) to secure his vote to rezone 108 acres at Carrickmines.

4. That on May 4th, 1992, in the reception area of Dublin City Council, he corruptly gave £3,000 to councillor Tom Hand of Fine Gael (now deceased) to secure his vote to rezone 108 acres at Carrickmines.

5. That on May 4th, 1992, at St John of God's in Dublin, he corruptly gave £3,000 to councillor Don Lydon of Fianna Fáil to secure his vote to rezone 108 acres at Carrickmines.

6. That on a date unknown, between Dublin City Council's office and Conway's pub, he corruptly gave £2,000 to councillor Tony Fox of Fianna Fáil to secure his vote to rezone 108 acres at Carrickmines.

7. That on a date unknown between June 12th, 1992, and June 29th, 1992, he corruptly gave £2,000 to Fianna Fáil councillor Colm McGrath at Mr McGrath's office in Clondalkin, in order to secure his vote to rezone 108 acres at Carrickmines.

8. That on a date unknown between June 12th, 1992, and June 29th, 1992, in Dublin, he corruptly gave £2,000 to councillor Liam Cosgrave of Fine Gael to secure his vote to rezone 108 acres of land at Carrickmines.

9. That on October 30th, 1997, at the Davenport Hotel in Dublin, he corruptly gave a sum of money to councillor Liam Cosgrave of Fine Gael to vote in favour of a motion that Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council rezone about 36.85 acres of land at Carrickmines for industrial use in the county development plan.

10. That on October 30th, 1997, at the Davenport Hotel in Dublin, he corruptly gave a sum of money to Liam Cosgrave of Fine Gael to secure his vote in favour of a motion to rezone about 88 acres of land at Carrickmines for industrial use.

11. That on December 23rd, 1997, at Buswells Hotel in Dublin, he corruptly gave a sum of money to Liam Cosgrave of Fine Gael to secure his vote in favour of a motion to rezone 36.85 acres of land at Carrickmines as industrial in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown development plan.

12. That on December 23rd, 1997, at Buswells Hotel in Dublin, he corruptly gave a sum of money to Liam Cosgrave of Fine Gael to secure his vote in favour of rezoning 88 acres of land at Carrickmines.

13. That on October 30th, 1997, at the Davenport Hotel in Dublin, he corruptly gave a sum of money to councillor Tony Fox of Fianna Fáil to secure his vote in favour of rezoning 36.85 acres of land at Carrickmines.

14. That on October 30th, 1997, at the Davenport Hotel, he corruptly gave money to Tony Fox of Fianna Fáil to secure his vote in favour of rezoning 88 acres at Carrickmines.

15. That on a date unknown between October 30th, 1997, and December 25th, 1997, at the Davenport Hotel, he corruptly gave a sum of money to Tony Fox of Fianna Fáil to secure his vote in favour of rezoning 36.85 acres of land at Carrickmines.

16. That on a date unknown between October 30th and December 25th, 1997, at the Davenport Hotel, he corruptly gave a sum of money to Tony Fox to secure his vote to rezone 88 acres at Carrickmines.

The Irish Times

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Dunlop to face bribery charge

FORMER government press secretary Frank Dunlop is facing criminal charges for his admitted bribery of local government officials.

Charges prepared by the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) will include at least one count of alleged corruption against Mr Dunlop, it is understood, an offence which carries a maximum jail term of seven years.

Speaking in the grounds of Trinity College after receiving his Masters law degree, Mr Dunlop said: "When you study law and you get a masters degree in law, there is one thing you learn conclusively. That is to take the advice of your lawyers, and I have absolutely no comment to make on those matters."

It is understood Mr Dunlop has been told that charges will be preferred against him in a short time.

Reports say the specific charges against Mr Dunlop will relate to the rezoning of lands at Carrickmines owned by the mysterious Jackson Way company.

Mr Dunlop told the Mahon Tribunal that he paid over £25,000 to secure the votes of local councillors. He said he paid the money on behalf of developer John Kennedy, now living abroad, who has refused to cooperate with the tribunal.

There is speculation that corruption charges against Mr Dunlop may be the precursor to similar charges against other individuals who may have been on the receiving end of allegedly corrupt payments.

Senan Molony Deputy Political Editor

Irish Independent

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Chairman cleared of unethical rezoning allegation

A FIANNA Fáil councillor who is also the chairman of the board of Shannon Development has been cleared by Kerry County Council of an allegation he may have breached ethics laws when he voted to rezone land to facilitate the country’s first natural gas terminal.

The complaint was made by a group opposed to the €500 million Shannon Liquefied Natural Gas terminal and pipeline project near Tarbert on the Shannon estuary. The group has made a similar complaint against a Fianna Fáil Senator and former area councillor.

Separately, Kerry County Council is seeking general clarification on whether council representatives on harbour boards and development bodies have a conflict of interest under ethics legislation.

In March 2007, John Brassil, who represents the Listowel area, voted, along with all other councillors, at a Kerry County Council meeting to rezone a parcel of Shannon Development-owned land on the estuary from “rural general” and “secondary special amenity” to “industrial” to facilitate the building of the terminal.

Two weeks ago, the Kilcolgan Residents Association, which represents a number of local families opposed to the terminal, complained Mr Brassil had a conflict of interest in doing so.

Mr Brassil had denied any wrongdoing, saying he had always acted for the people and bringing 500 jobs and €500 million investment to the area “is absolutely what I am elected for”.

Council manager Tom Curran told the monthly meeting of the council on Monday evening he and the mayor of Kerry had investigated the complaint.

“As far as we are concerned there is no issue at stake and we will be reporting back accordingly,” Mr Curran said. Mayor of Kerry Tom Fleming (FF) told the meeting Mr Brassil had acted “for the common good and had no beneficial interest”.

In a second complaint made late last week to the council, the Shannon Foynes Port Company and to the clerk of the Oireachtas Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security, the residents association said former county councillor Ned O’Sullivan (now a Senator) and a former director of the Shannon Foynes Port Company had a conflict of interest when he voted for the rezoning.

Mr O’Sullivan has defended his support for the project. He said he was proud of the part he has played in bringing Shannon LNG to the Tarbert Ballylongford Landbank. Section 177 of the Local Government Act 2001 obliges councillors to withdraw from meetings if they have a connection with the matter under discussion.

The Irish Times

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Cllr Brassil rejects any LNG wrongdoing

KERRY County Councillor and Shannon Development chairman, John Brassil, has strenuously rejected allegations of any wrongdoing in voting to support a variation to the Kerry County Development Plan, allowing lands owned by Shannon Development be rezoned for industrial use. The Kilcolgan Residents Association have lodged a complaint to Shannon Development, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Kerry County Council, alleging a breach of ethics and a conflict of interest by Cllr Brassil.

The group, which is campaigning against the location of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the Ballylongford Landbank,claims that a breach of ethics may have taken place when Cllr Brassil voted to rezone the land to allow for the development of the terminal.

In a letter to Enterprise Minster, Micheál Martin, as well as Kerry County Council and Shannon Development, the Kilcolgan Residents Association pointed out that in May 2006, Shannon LNG announced an option to purchase, subject to planning, the lands at Kilcolgan owned by Shannon Development - the board of which Councillor Brassil was a member.

They say that on March 12, 2007, Cllr Brassil voted in support of the variation to the Kerry County Development Plan 2003-2009 at Kerry County Council that rezoned lands in Kilcolgan owned by Shannon Development from rural general and secondary special amenity to industrial.

This, they said, ‘may' be seen as being a breach of ethics and a conflict of interest by Councillor John Brassil, adding that the Fianna Fáil councillor should have excused himself from the vote.

Speaking to The Kerryman this week, Cllr Brassil denied any wrong doing and said that he acted in a proper manner.

"At all times I have acted in a proper manner in any business with Kerry County Council," he said. "I have always acted for the benefit of the people I serve and bringing 500 jobs and a €500 million investment to north Kerry is absolutely what I'm elected for."

Shannon Development, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Kerry County Council have all confirmed they have received, and are examining, a letter of complaint from the Kilcolgan Residents Association.

The Kerryman

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Healy-Rae's son faces wrath of residents in new sand dunes storm

RESIDENTS are furious with a well-known TD's son who was pictured carrying out machinery work at a caravan park in Co Kerry.

Residents in Banna Beach say the work done by Councillor Michael Healy-Rae involves a sensitive dune area and needs planning permission.

The residents say the sand was being taken from the dunes to cover sewer pipes at the caravan park.

But Cllr Healy-Rae said he was not interfering with the area and "was not knocking sand dunes".

The owner of the caravan park, Liam West, said he was entitled to carry out renewal of services work.

"We did nothing unauthorised," he said.

Mr Healy-Rae refused to comment on whether the work he was doing was unauthorised. This was a matter for the owner, he said. He also said his role as a councillor, and that of a machinery operator with his company Roughty Plant Hire, were separate entities.

"Me as a councillor and me doing work are two separate things."

A Kerry County Council spokesman confirmed a complaint had been received alleging that unauthorised work was being carried out at Banna and the council was investigating.

Cllr Toireasa Ferris said she was extremely concerned about the matter "considering the history of the developer" in Banna and that the residents had to fight so hard to have the area protected.

An enforcement order was taken against Mr West after he interfered with the dunes near his caravan park in the late 1990s. He was asked to restore and re-grass the dunes.

The enforcement proceedings prohibits him from laying sewer pipes unless he applies for permission.

The Wests, who have been involved in the caravan park business for over 33 years, were last year refused permission for a "state of the art" 161 static unit park, near their existing 20-unit facility at Banna. It had been granted permission by the council but this was appealed by residents.

A new application for a 60-unit park at Banna, by Peter West, is now before the council.

"In Banna at the moment we have 43 permanent homes and over 600 mobile homes and chalets," Walter Sheehan, chairman of the Banna-Carrahane Environment Protection Residents Group said.

Mr and Mrs West, who live in Killorglin in the Kerry South constituency, last year contributed €2,000 to the Kerry South TD and father of Cllr Healy-Rae, Jackie Healy-Rae, according to the annual report of the Standards in Public Office Commission published in April.

Anne Lucey
Irish Independent

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Jackie Healy-Rae's pals

THE RECENT list of disclosed donations to TDs last year revealed the legendary Jackie Healy-Rae to be an even shrewder operator than previously thought, with his €24,900 eclipsing the modest €3,500 he received in 2002 (he did not receive any in 1997). Fans of Goldhawk might recognise two of his benefactors from some unfortunate planning rows in the Kingdom - where the Healy-Rae clan was to the fore.

Early last year, Jackie's sons Danny and Michael Healy-Rae (both members of Kerry County Council) attempted to rezone land owned by Killarney businessman Dermot Healy. Healy, it will be recalled (see The Phoenix, 9/2/2007), had been running a car dealership since 1992 without proper planning permission and was facing enforcement proceedings from Kerry County Council, although this did not stop Danny Healy-Rae proposing Healy's rezoning plan in the council chamber (which Michael Healy-Rae seconded). Enforcement proceedings have since been adjourned while Healy's application for retention goes through the planning process.

Healy contributed €1,000 to Jackie Healy-Rae last year. Another generous pal of Jackie's is Con Duggan, a wellknown Killarney operator and nephew of Goldhawk's old pal Noel C Duggan, who also gave the TD €1,000 last year. In 2007, the Duggan family proposed to put a warehouse right beside the 5-star Aghadoe Heights hotel, overlooking Killarney's famous lakes. Michael Healy-Rae seconded this "imaginative proposal" in the council chamber, while his brother Danny also rowed in behind the Duggans' "unique" plan. This initially won the support of the majority of the councillors but not that of most Killarney folk. Such was the outcry to the proposal that the councillors eventually backed down and tossed it out. Bizarrely, a short time later, a circus rolled into town and set up camp in front of the posh Aghadoe Heights, much to the horror of the local tourist chiefs. This was orchestrated by none other than Con Duggan (see The Phoenix, 20/4/2007).

Another proposal saw the Healy-Rae brothers attempt to rezone 16 acres of the Duggans' land to residential, despite the site being in a rural area several miles outside Killarney. The County Manager recommended against the rezoning, as such an "isolated housing (development) in a rural area would be inappropriate." Danny Healy-Rae, however, seconded the proposal on the grounds that the Duggans would provide social and affordable housing. The Duggans and Healy-Raes were surely delighted when this got the thumbs-up from the majority of the members, although the proposal didn't go down well when the plan went out on public display, even attracting a scathing editorial from The Irish Times. When the final vote was held in April 2007, the members had mysteriously changed their minds again and unanimously agreed to toss it out of the plan.

The Pheonix

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Planners make profound decisions

My Grandfather's funeral was Friday. Bit of a mortality reminder; if such selfish thought are permitted on such days. I spent most of the day reflecting on what a person is remembered for after they are gone. Tributes paid to the man tended to partially reflect the person I knew. The man was fanatical about his home, birds, biodiversity and wood. He fought in WWII, married and raised a family, taught at university, produced carved regionally significant artworks, produced countless small design feats, could name every bird in the UK from sight and sound, and much much more. He was a quiet over-achiever. In later life, for my family and others, he was the man you contacted for advice on every practical problem.

The reason why this man is relevant to my Blog is, perhaps sadly, due to my lasting memory of a bugbear of his which existed for the part of his lifetime we shared. What I remembered was how he objected to the extent to which the lands around his home, which were once part of the village, into which he moved post-war, were re-zoned, and subsequently developed, for track housing. Over the final three decades of his life, he watched as more and more housing of a dubious quality was built, and less and less of the place he once knew remained. The effect of this was, I think, hardly noticed by my family.

The effect was one familiar in Ireland. He focused on his interests and his work and did not interact with any of this new development. My Grandparents' property became a private enclave surrounded by tall hedges. Beautiful inside, with bird tables, many species of flora, and a peaceful, away from it all, atmosphere. A large site amongst tiny suburban boxes. Sadly, while their interests in nature and especially birds flourished, their lives became hermit-like. Today, like many parts of Ireland, there are houses everywhere. Children and their parents interact on estate roads and cars drive in and around the area with a constant hum. Perhaps the original occupants of all areas eventually become forgotten as development takes over and villages are overwhelmed, their inhabitants blind-sided with such severity their association with the area is circumcised. The death of my Grandfather made me think of all the people who are coping with change in their communities as they get older. It is these people, many of whom never object,who experience the repercussions of what we planners permit today. They live with it from the date of grant. The aim here is not to be moralistic; not to take a potshot at Irish planning; but to try to remind all planners of the profound importance of remembering how planning decisons can alter people's lives.

The celebration of my Grandfather's life was shared by friends, family and associates, but not by neighbours. I hope our new communities will remember to introduce themselves to the existing residents of an area. Anyone who had taken the time to knock on my Grandfather's door could have embarked on an adventure. A perfectionist in all he did all his life. A man who found beauty and happiness in a lump of wood, was a man with whom to share a road.

The question of course is what he thought of my being a planner. He thought you could only change things from the inside. My responsibility, he said, is to plan to protect. By this he meant protect nature. But the lesson is a wider one. The planner's role is one with a great responsibility to protect. Sometimes we get it right, sometimes we do not. We must strive to do better: to protect.

Brendan Buck