Lawyers for the Flood Tribunal have said that they have not received a single shred of evidence that Ray Burke paid any money for his former house and land at Swords in North County Dublin. The builder Tom Brennan has taken the witness stand for the second time to explain large payments to Mr Burke from his companies. He claims that Mr Burke paid £15,000 for the house.
"Briargate" in Swords, which Ray Burke sold last year for over £3m, was built in the 1970s by Oak Park Developments. The solicitor who acted in the sale of the land said that no money ever changed hands and that he was later asked to bury the file on the transaction. One of the directors of Oak Park, Tom Brennan claims that Mr Burke paid £15,000 for the site and house.
Today lawyers for the Tribunal asked Mr Brennan if he could produce a single shred of evidence that Ray Burke paid any money. He said that so far he could not, but one of the other company directors was looking into it. Counsel for the Tribunal said that despite extensive searches, they had no evidence that a single shilling was paid.
Mr Brennan was also questioned about a reference to £15,000 payment to Ray Burke under the heading of planning. The remark was contained on the files of Dublin Airport Industrial Estates Limited in 1974. He denied any knowledge and said that it could have been a complete fabrication. It also emerged that Ray Burke seconded a county council motion to rezone land owned by that company.
