Four former Fianna Fáil Dublin County Councilors and a businessman are facing corruption charges at Dublin District Court.

The businessman, Jim Kennedy, is charged with making corrupt payments to several former councilors, some of whom are now deceased.

Those in court were Councilors Don Lydon, Sean Gilbride and Colm McGrath, as well as Tony Fox, a former Fianna Fáil member but now an independent member of Dún Laoghaire Rathdown council. They  face charges of receiving money in relation to land rezoning.

Kennedy has been remanded in custody with consent to bail. Gilbride, McGrath, Lydon and Fox are denying the charges and have been granted bail.

The police told the court they are objecting to Kennedy’s bail as he had no permanent connections to Ireland and had not lived there since the 1990s. They said he was not an Irish citizen and had renounced citizenship in 2002. He now holds a British passport.

All five men are due back in court on October 28.