INDEPENDENT CANDIDATE Seán Gallagher has conceded he may have delivered a €5,000 donation from a “convicted criminal and fuel smuggler” to Fianna Fáil headquarters three years ago.
In the latest dramatic twist in the presidential election campaign, Mr Gallagher, speaking during last night's Frontlinetelevision debate on RTÉ, at first denied any knowledge of a Sinn Féin claim he had personally collected a €5,000 cheque from a man who attended a fundraiser for former taoiseach Brian Cowen.
The last of the five televised debates was dominated by sustained attacks by audience members and some candidates on Mr Gallagher over his business record and links to Fianna Fáil.
Sinn Féin candidate Martin McGuinness claimed that yesterday he spoke to the man, who told him Mr Gallagher had visited his home in order to collect the cheque. Mr Gallagher rejected the claim, and challenged Mr McGuinness to identify his contact.
Later in the debate, however, presenter Pat Kenny said Sinn Féin intended to produce the man at a press conference today. The party later said this was not the case.
In the debate, Mr Gallagher said he didn’t want to cast aspersions on the man, then continued: “He’s a convicted criminal, a fuel smuggler, investigated by the Criminal Assets Bureau and rented the office out to Gerry Adams, Martin’s colleague, in the last general election. I don’t want to get involved in this.”
When pushed by Kenny as to whether he had received a cheque from the unnamed individual, Mr Gallagher replied: “I have no recollection of getting a cheque from this guy. I can tell you, let me explain this very simply. I explained that there were two or three people that I asked. I don’t know the man very well that’s in question.”
Mr Gallagher later said that Mr McGuinness had alleged that he had driven to the man’s house “to deliver a photograph of the event and that he gave me a cheque.
“What I have done, I may well have delivered the photograph. If he gave me an envelope I . . . if he gave me the cheque it was made out to Fianna Fáil headquarters and it was delivered and that was that. It was nothing to do with me.”
Asked by Kenny if this meant he had invited a fuel smuggler to a “Fianna Fáil do”, Mr Gallagher said he wasn’t aware of the man’s background at the time, in 2008.
Labour candidate Michael D Higgins said the matter needed to be resolved as quickly as possible.
Earlier, Mr McGuinness said the man had told him he was one of about 35 people who attended a fundraiser for Mr Cowen at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dundalk. Each person contributed €5,000.
“This particular gentleman told me that not alone did Seán arrange it, Seán arranged for the photographs and brought the photographs to his house and Seán also called around to his house to collect the cheque for €5,000.
“Now that is indisputable. That’s an absolute disgrace and clearly shows the rottenness of the system that went before in terms of the cronyism, the developers, the speculators and those who effectively destroyed the economy of this country and Seán is up to his neck in all of that.”
Mr Gallagher said he had invited “two or three” people to the fundraiser, and helped organise a photograph. The event was set up by FF headquarters, and he had been asked as a local businessman to inform those who might like to attend.
Mr Gallagher also came under pressure over a director’s loan for €82,829 from one of his companies that breached company law.
He claimed that no breach had taken place. The money had been placed in the wrong account by his bookkeeper’s secretary. Once his accountant had spotted the mistake and alerted him, the matter was “resolved” within four weeks.
Fine Gael candidate Gay Mitchell said that a clear statement should be made about the issue today.