Bank of Ireland's controversial new chief executive, Richie Boucher, advised property developer Seán Dunne on his acquisition of the iconic Jury's hotel site in Ballsbridge. He also wrote a submission on bank-headed stationery to Dublin City Council advocating that planning permission be granted for the contentious redevelopment.

Boucher, whose appointment to succeed Brian Goggin has been lambasted by opposition politicians for perpetuating the cosy cartel in Irish banking, was singled out for mention by Dunne in a
major radio interview last year.

Speaking to Marian Finucane on RTÉ on 15 March, Dunne recalled the days immediately after he agreed to purchase the Jury's site for €275m, which he planned to turn into the Knightsbridge of Ireland. He said he was holidaying in Thailand with his wife and his young son in late July 2005 with just seven days to secure financing before signing the purchase contract for Ballsbridge.

"I phoned up a very good friend of mine, Richie Boucher. He's now deputy head of Bank of Ireland," Dunne remembered. "And, after about Wednesday, Richie said, 'Seán,' he said, 'if I was trying to borrow the money you're trying to borrow, I wouldn't stay in Thailand. I'd come back to Dublin.' So I thought that was good advice, even though I wanted to stay in Thailand with my wife and son."

Dunne went on to say that he flew to Ireland immediately, landing in Dublin on Thursday night. "I went straight from the plane to a meeting. I spoke to Bank of Ireland. I spoke to Irish Nationwide and Paul Mc­Donnell in Ulster Bank," he said. "That Friday night, at nine o'clock, Ulster Bank walked through the door of my office and … they produced the letter for the full purchase price. The contract was signed the following Wednesday."

On 3 October 2007, the planning department in Dublin City Council received a letter from Boucher, giving his address as the office of chief executive of Bank of Ireland Group's retail financial services at head office in Lower Baggot Street.

It was headed "Jurys/­Ber­k­eley Court Site". He wrote: "Dear Sir, I refer to the above and write to confirm my strong support for this landmark proposal which I believe will significantly benefit the city of Dublin and its citizens through helping enhance the concept of a living city and providing buildings of significant architectural merit befitting Ireland of the 21st century. Yours faithfully, Richie Boucher, chief executive, Retail Financial Services Ireland."

At the height of EU interest rates, it was reported Dunne was exposed to €11m annual interest payments on his borrowings for the Ballsbridge site.

The high-risk relationship between bankers and build­ers has been blamed for Ireland's banking failure.

Dublin City Council granted partial permission for the Ballsbridge development on 7 March 2008 but, crucially, it disallowed Dunne's proposed 37-storey tower. Following a week of public hearings in Croke Park and after receiving a record-breaking volume of submissions, An Bord Pleanála rejected the totality of the proposals on 29 January last.

Zambia-born Richie Bouch­er was head-hunted by Bank of Ireland from Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank's parent company, in 2003. He was made head of Bank of Ireland's retail division in January 2006, where he saw the company's land bank and development loans grow to €7.1bn.

His appointment to replace Brian Goggin has been criticised as an internal selection at a time when the Irish banking sector is experiencing its worst crisis in history.

Finance minister Brian Lenihan, however, told the Oireachtas finance committee last week he was satisfied Boucher was the best candidate for the job.