The tribunal has heard a claim that Dublin county councillors would have to be "incentivised" to support a land rezoning in west Dublin.
Financier Mr Luke Mooney said he was told there would have to be heavy lobbying and "incentivisation" of councillors if land at Coolmine, near Lucan, was to be successfully developed.
Builder Mr Joe Tiernan told him this when he approached Mr Mooney and his company, Corporate Finance Ireland (CFI), for funding to buy the Coolamber land in the late 1980s, he said. He understood "incentivisation" to involve the payment of money.
However, Mr Mooney said he did not see Mr Tiernan pay money to anybody and he was not aware that he had done so.
Mr Tiernan told him he had been approached by one councillor, who made a "large financial demand" to "facilitate the process" of rezoning. However, Mr Tiernan was "not disposed to accede" to this demand.
At the tribunal's request, Mr Mooney wrote down the name of the councillor who made the alleged request.
Mr Mooney said that in 1995, he was instrumental in sorting out Mr Liam Lawlor's financial problems; at the time, the politician was at risk of losing his house because the banks wanted to foreclose on debts of over £1 million.
Mr Mooney said he asked Mr Lawlor "straight out" if he had any assets other than his house and surrounding land. Mr Lawlor told him he hadn't.
The witness said he was burning up personal capital in asking the banks for a write-off and didn't want to end up as a "busted flush". He told Mr Lawlor: "I don't want to look like a fool if you produce one or two million out of a hat."
The land was sold and the banks received between 35 and 44 per cent of what they were owed.
Later that year, Mr Lawlor received £375,000 offshore from his involvement with the Coolamber land. Mr Mooney said he hadn't known about this money. If he had, he would not have become involved.
Correction: Yesterday's report on the Mahon tribunal transposed the names of Mr Joe Tiernan and Mr Luke Mooney in several places. It was Mr Mooney, and not Mr Tiernan as stated, who persuaded Mr Robin Rennicks to put up the deposit for the Coolamber lands, who said his failure to mention a £302,000 fee in his original statement to the tribunal was a "glaring omission" and who, according to tribunal counsel, failed to provide seven items of information to the inquiry.
