Liam Lawlor has now provided the Flood Tribunal with huge volumes of documents, a court has heard. Frank Clarke, Senior Counsel for the Tribunal, told Mr Justice Smith in the High Court today that an initial examination of these documents indicated that the Independent Dublin West TD had complied with a High Court order.
Mr Lawlor has claimed legal privilege on a number of listed documents. Mr Clarke said that the Tribunal would now have to examine these documents in detail. The Tribunal will also have to satisfy itself that the privilege is properly claimed. It will have to consider if it will require Mr Lawlor to give evidence. This will be a time-consuming process and he asked the judge to list the case for mention in his court on 3 July.
Mr Lawlor was in court for the brief hearing. Neither he nor his lawyers were required to take any active part in the proceedings. In a separate development, the Flood Tribunal has resumed taking evidence from Jersey based solicitor Simon Howard. He is being questioned about transactions involving off shore companies owned by the builders Brennan and McGowan.
The inquiry is also focusing on a lodgement of £35,000 to Ray Burke's Jersey bank account in 1984. Mr Burke has claimed that the lodgement was moved from another account in London. The Tribunal heard that Tom Brennan was in Jersey ten days before the lodgement was made. His company, Kalabraki Limited, had an account at the same London bank as Ray Burke.
