Sligo-Leitrim TD Mr John Ellis has been accused by an IFA official of "foot-dragging" over a £120,000 payment he promised last November to farmers who were owed large sums of money when his meat company collapsed in 1986.
Mr Ellis said in November that he had reached a final agreement with the IFA and that this was the end of the matter as far as he was concerned. However the Co Mayo chairman of the IFA, Mr Sean Clarke, said yesterday that no money had yet been made available.
The IFA was to have called a meeting to give the 80 creditors a chance to vote on the offer, which was only a fraction of the debts left in 1986, but this has never happened because Mr Ellis asked for more time to get the money together.
Mr Ellis said he had no comment to make, other than that negotiations were ongoing with the IFA.
Mr Ellis, and his two brothers, Caillian and Richard, were the three directors of the Donegal-based Stanlow Trading Ltd. When it collapsed, some debts were paid off but about 80 farmers, some of whom were in very difficult circumstances, were still owed amounts ranging from £200 to £21,000. The total amount owed to them was about £300,000.
It has been established in the courts that the Ellis brothers are not personally liable for the debts of Stanlow Trading, but Mr John Ellis has accepted that there is a "moral responsibility".
Last November's offer was a joint one from the TD and his brother Caillian, who is a member of Leitrim County Council. Mr Richard Ellis, who lives in the Isle of Man, refused to make any contribution.
Mr Clarke pointed out that it was now nearly 20 months since a campaign began to try to secure payment for the farmers. This was prompted by revelations that Mr John Ellis had a £263,000 debt at National Irish Bank written off for a payment of £20,000 in 1991, and that debts to marts totalling £26,000 were paid by Mr Charles Haughey. In this way Mr Ellis avoided bankruptcy and held his Dail seat.
The controversy in 1999 forced Mr Ellis to resign as chairman if the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Agriculture.
Last November, the Taoiseach expressed satisfaction that the issue was "resolved". Mr Ahern made the comments while visiting the Sligo-Leitrim constituency, accompanied by Mr Ellis.
The debts left by Stanlow Trading caused severe hardship in some cases. One widow with five young children had sold all of her saleable stock to Stanlow Trading and never received any payment. "It was a devastating blow to some of the farmers. There were no subsidies then and they were losing the full value of the animal," Mr Clarke said.