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Government, Anglo and the developers...

A significant number of government ministers received donations or proceeds from fundraising events from builders and developers financed by now nationalised Anglo Irish Bank, according to analysis by the 'Sunday Tribune'

Emmet Oliver and Neil Callanan

Sean Mulryan

Eoin Ryan

Michael Martin

Ged Pierse

Paddy Kelly

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Declarations to the Standards in Public Office Commission (SIPO) show that the Taoiseach, the minister for social welfare Mary Hanafin and the minister for foreign affairs Micheál Martin amongst others received money from companies or individuals linked to companies that received mortgage charges from Anglo Irish Bank.

In addition, the analysis found that many donors to TDs or political parties do not have their full company names listed by SIPO or are not registered with the Companies Office as either a trading name or a company.

Cosgrave Developments donated €1,000 to Taoiseach Brian Cowen in 2006 as did Sean Mulryan of Ballymore, both of whom are backed by Anglo.

Cowen also received donations from a number of other property developers that year, although they were not backed by Anglo.

The Cosgraves have not taken mortgages with Anglo in general, but 2005 saw a charge created by Anglo in relation to the assignment of a building contract from 2004 between Cosgrave Property Developments and G&T Crampton.

Peter Cosgrave of Cosgrave Property Group has made a number of donations to FF TDs. In 2002, now retired TD Joe Jacob also received €1,000 from Peter Cosgrave while TD Joe Behan received €1,500 last year.

MEP Eoin Ryan also received money from Cosgrave Property Group in 2004. He also received a €1,100 donation that year from Treasury Holdings which was given finance by Anglo Irish Bank in relation to Spencer Dock, a building on Grand Canal Quay and the Ritz Carlton.

Building company Pierse also gave €1,200 to Ryan in 2002 and it has received funding from Anglo for many projects, while Gerry Gannon's Gannon Homes also donated €1,100 to Eoin Ryan in 2004. Gannon Homes has been backed by Anglo from the early 1990s and Gannon himself is in the Anglo share register.

In 2005, Gannon gave €2,000 via a golf classic to Ivor Callelly. That year Callely stepped down as minister of state at the Department of Transport.

Bill Cullen's Glencullen Distributors donated €2,500 to social welfare minister Mary Hanafin in 2007. Another Cullen company called Glencullen Investment registered a legal charge on a leasehold property from Anglo in 2001. That charge has since been fully satisfied. Foreign affairs minister Micheál Martin received donations in 2007 from Michael O'Flynn who owns O'Flynn Construction, and from John J Fleming Construction Company, both of which have had charges via Anglo.

In 2004, Paddy Kelly of Kelland Homes donated €1,000 to FF TD Charlie O'Connor. Kelly is involved with Sean Mulryan of Ballymore in Markland Homes, which has been given mortgages by Anglo since 2003. Kelland also donated €1,000 to Charlie O'Connor in 2006.

Defence minister Willie O'Dea received a €1,750 donation from Fordmount Developments in 2005. The company was backed by Anglo and had retained profits of €10.6m at the end of 2007, after making a €3.49m gross profit.

Arts, sports and tourism minister Martin Cullen received €1,000 from McInerney Construction, since renamed McInerney Homes, in 2002 and that company has received numerous charges from Anglo Irish Bank.

Former Fianna Fáil TD Joe Behan has received significant donations from developers. In 2007 alone he received €1,500 from Kimpton Vale and a further donation from J Wood & Co of Town Park Estates. Both sought rezoning of land in Wicklow last year (see feature, page 4). He also received €1,500 from Newlyn Developments, which was backed by Anglo for many years.

Junior minister John McGuinness, meanwhile, received €2,500 from Deerland Construction in 2007, which has in the past registered a mortgage charge from Anglo, while the same bank also backed Lark Developments, which in the past donated €1,000 to fellow minister of state Mary Wallace.

Minister for state Sean Power received €850 from Bennett Developments in 2006. Anglo had a charge on land owned by Jewelbury, a company with land in East Wall in Dublin 3 with which Chris Bennett of Bennett Developments is involved, but this has since been fully satisfied according to the Companies Office. Power also received €1,000 from one of Ballymore's companies.

Former minister of state Tom Kitt, meanwhile, received a donation of €1,000 from Paddy McKillen, who is involved in property development, investment and retail, in 2002. Anglo backed the Jervis Street shopping centre, which McKillen part owns.

Fianna Fáil and the PDs also benefited from donations made to them from Anglo-backed developers.

In 2005, fundraisers or donations of more than €5,000 were made by, amongst others, Ballymore, Durkan New Homes, John J Fleming Construction and Castlemarket Holdings, who have banking relationships with Anglo Irish Bank either through those companies or related entities. The previous year, Durkan New Homes, and Bill Cullen's Glencullen Distributors, all made donations of more than €6,000 while in 2002 and 2003 Pat Doherty's Airscape made donations in three separate tranches. Again those companies have links to Anglo.

Others to have donated or fundraised for Fianna Fáil in recent years who banked or were funded by Anglo are the Bailey Brothers' Bovale Developments, Murnane & O'Shea and Liam Carroll's Dunloe Ewart, albeit it donated in the same year as Carroll seized control of the company from Noel Smyth. Paddy Kelly of Redquartz, also donated to FF in 2002 and has had a business relationship with Anglo.

Developer David Arnold and Treasury Holdings, via Castlemarket Holdings, meanwhile, gave donations to the PDs in 2002. Both also have been involved with Anglo.