Lawlor quits and says Ahern ally offered £100,000 `sweetener'
Thursday June 08 2000
Sources close to Mr Lawlor said he was offered £100,000 to act as a consultant for the developers in a Dublin hotel by one of Bertie Ahern's closest and longest serving Fianna Fail associates.
It is understood that Mr Lawlor, in whose Dublin West constituency the Sonas Centre casino was to be sited, will name the man who offered him £100,000 at the Flood Tribunal.
This is by far the most serious allegation made involving anyone politically and personally close to the Taoiseach. And the opposition will ask Bertie Ahern for an explanation in the Dail.
Last night it was not possible to reach the person about whom the allegations were made.
But friends said they did not believe he was involved in the casino project, although he knew some of its promoters.
Mr Lawlor's allegation was made just before his resignation yesterday after the Fianna Fail Committee On Standards In Public Life report was published.
Under the heading ``Other Information'' the report said: ``Liam Lawlor informed the Committee of a request he had received to meet with an unnamed individual in the Berkeley Court Hotel. He stated that this individual asked him to act as a consultant for the Phoenix Park project for a sum of £100,000.''
It continued: ``Liam Lawlor rejected this request. Liam Lawlor stated he was a strong opponent of the Phoenix Park casino proposal given the harmful effects of one arm bandits.''
It concludes: ``When asked by the Committee to identify the person whom he met in the Berkeley Court, Mr Lawlor declined to give any information about the individual.''
However, just as he resigned from Fianna Fail yesterday evening, sources close to Mr Lawlor identified the person as one of the party leader's oldest and closest political allies.
The report was the fruits of the labours of a five-man Fianna Fail team. They spent 100 hours interviewing 46 current and former members of Dublin County Council on their political donations and voting records on controversial rezonings.
The bulk of their attention appears to have been concentrated on Mr Lawlor, who was interviewed a number of times and was regularly in correspondence with them.
While the team felt it could not reach definite decisions because of legal constraints, the writing was on the wall for Mr Lawlor in a letter to him from parliamentary party chairman Rory O'Hanlon on May 26.
That letter said the team was ``unanimously of the view'' that Mr Lawlor was not giving his full assistance and co-operation to them.
His lack of co-operation could result in ``a severe sanction'' being imposed by Fianna Fail, the party chairman wrote.
Later Mr Ahern had tried to draw a line under the saga when he paid tribute to the ``difficult decision'' Mr Lawlor had made. It could not have been an ``easy one'' he said. Last night, there was general agreement in Leinster House that Mr Lawlor's resignation created instability in the minority government even though the Dublin West TD will continue to vote with it in the Dail.
- By SAM SMYTH
