Cosgrave to face corruption charges after losing appeal
Former Fine Gael politician Liam Cosgrave has narrowly lost an appeal to stop his trial on corruption charges.
The Supreme Court ruled by a majority of three to two that the case against the ex-TD and Senator should proceed.
Cosgrave will now face trial on five counts of receiving corrupt payments in 1992 and 1997.
The charges relate to the rezoning of land in Carrickmines in Dublin and arose from interviews between gardaí and lobbyist Frank Dunlop back in 2003.
Two years later, Cosgrave pleaded guilty to a much less serious charge of failing to declare a political donation.
In a dissenting judgment, Supreme Court judge Adrian Hardiman says he cannot accept that the corruption charges could not have been brought against the former politician at this time.
He believes the delay is seriously oppressive, the procedures unjust and he has questioned why Mr Cosgrave has been singled out in this respect.
But Chief Justice Susan Denham has found the DPP had a reason to delay the prosecution and she has found a very significant public interest in allowing the trial to proceed.
