THE former government minister, Mr Michael Lowry, last night reiterated his weekend statement that he and his wife had had marital difficulties for a number of years. They both acknowledged that fact and they should be allowed to resolve their own way and in privacy, he said.
Speaking to journalists after a meeting in Nenagh where he addressed 150 supporters, Mr Lowry said that irrespective of their marital difficulties, his wife Catherine was always there to support him in politics.
He said there was no significance in the fact that he and his wife arrived separately at last night's meeting. "I have been at meetings in Nenagh where her family was there and so was mine."
He was very heartened by the support he got, and his reaction to the call by the Minister for Social Welfare, Mr De Rossa, that he should resign was "the only people who will determine my future are the people of North Tipperary, them and them alone."
He said the arrangements he had with Dunnes Stores was known by Ben Dunne and his chief accountant. "Every pound I got from Dunnes Stores was earned and properly due to me in respect of my business with Dunnes Stores.
He said he had fully cooperated with the tribunal of inquiry and was ready and willing to make himself available. "It is not my decision when I give evidence, it is the tribunal's."