- Liam T. Cosgrave
Liam Thomas Cosgrave (born 30 April 1956) is a former
Fine Gael politician in theRepublic of Ireland .Coming from a political family, he is the son of former
Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave and grandson of the firstPresident of the Executive Council of the Irish Free State W. T. Cosgrave . He is married to the daughter of formerChief Justice and 1950's Fine Gael Health MinisterThomas F. O'Higgins .He was elected to
Dáil Éireann at the 1981 general election asTeachta Dála for the Dún Laoghaire and re-elected at the February 1982 and November 1982 general elections. He lost his seat at the 1987 general election, and was unsuccessful again at the 1989 and 1992 general elections.In 1993 he was elected to
Seanad Éireann on the Industrial and Commercial Panel, serving asCathaoirleach , and was re-elected in 1997 to the21st Seanad . Cosgrave was a member of the Presidential Commission (actinghead of state ) from 12 September 1997 to 17 September 1997. At the 2002 general election he was again an unsuccessful candidate for the Dáil in Dún Laoghaire, and he did not contest the Seanad elections of that year.In 2003,
The Mahon Tribunal , set up to investigate allegations of corruption among Irish politicians, heard that Cosgrave had accepted illegal payments from property developers in return for voting to rezone property in Dublin. He resigned from the Fine Gael party when this became known, thereby effectively ending his political career.Cosgrave did not seek re-election to
Dún Laoghaire - Rathdown County Council in the 2004 local elections.On 17 October 2005, Cosgrave pleaded guilty to a charge of failing to disclose to the Standards in Public Office Commission a political donation of £2,500 received from lobbyist Frank Dunlop in the course of the 1997 general election. He was sentenced on 26th May 2006 to perform 75 hours of community service in lieu of a 6-month custodial sentence.
The Mahon Tribunal
Cosgrave appeared at
The Mahon Tribunal on 14 July 2006 in relation to a planning application from Monarch Properties to rezone convert|236|acre|km2 at Cherrywood, County Dublin. [ [http://www.flood-tribunal.ie/images/SITECONTENT_496.pdf MT140706.ecl ] ]He told the Tribunal that his decision to support the rezoning was not a U-turn in return for a political donation. But he could not recall the reason for his decision. He said he could not recollect whether he had received any donations from Monarch, or other developers at this time. But there could have been some.
Criminal Assets Bureau Investigation
The
Criminal Assets Bureau has secured a High Court order preventing the sale of convert|107|acre|km2 of land assets owned by Jackson Properties Ltd in Carrickmines. This investigation of corruption is being instituted on the basis ofbribes allegedly paid to councillors byFrank Dunlop to secure rezoning on 16 December 1997. This rezoning was investigated byThe Mahon Tribunal in 2003.References
External links
* [http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/1017/cosgravel.html Cosgrave pleads guilty to donation offence] —
RTÉ News report, 17 October 2005
* [http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0227/cosgravel.html Cosgrave faces community service sentence] —RTÉ News report, 27 February 2006
* [http://www.rte.ie/news/2006/0526/cosgravel.html Cosgrave community service sentence] —RTÉ News report, 26 May 2006
* [http://electionsireland.org/candidate.cfm?ID=2048 Liam T Cosgrave's electoral history] (ElectionsIreland.org)Navboxes
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