A former Fianna Fáil councillor says he cannot remember any of his party colleagues going against the party whip when it was decided to back rezonings on Dublin County Council.
Michael Hanrahan told the Mahon Tribunal that dissent was sometimes expressed during pre-vote meetings above a nearby pub but Fianna Fáil members would follow the party line when it came to the votes.
Mr Hanrahan, who was co-opted onto the council for a time in 1991, agreed in evidence it was wrong that none of the councillors ever declared they had an interest in a particular development or revealed they had received payments during these party meetings.
He said he had received a £300 donation from Monarch Properties and £300 from a builder who called to his house accompanied by a party colleague.
The builder had asked him to look favourably at a small land swap deal if he was re-elected and Mr Hanrahan said he did not see anything wrong with accepting the money.
But later sitting Fianna Fáil councillor John Hannon denied that party councillors had to obey a whip.
He said there was one female councillor who consistently voted against rezonings and there was no sanction against her.
Mr Hannon said, however, that there was a Fianna Fáil consensus in favour of development in the same way as there was an anti-development consensus in other parties.
He said he received a total of £800 in donations from Monarch Properties, the company behind the Cherrywood development, but he pointed out that he did not vote on any of the motions involved.
The tribunal also heard today that former Minister the late Brian Lenihan received a total of £1,200 from Monarch.
