An Independent TD has said he is "appalled and shocked" at the revelation by fellow Independent Mick Wallace that he had spoken to a "hitman" about recovering a debt of IR£20,000 (€25,394) owed to him by a contractor.
Finian McGrath said it was unacceptable for a member of the Oireachtas to be talking about guns and hiring hitmen in the current climate when people are under huge financial pressure.
"We have situations where business people are having problems with debt and particularly small businesses that are under huge strain.
"We see people with small businesses every day in our clinics and we advise them to go to Revenue and then we hear a colleague in the Oireachtas talking about guns and hitmen and it’s not acceptable. And it’s a huge distraction to the problems facing many of our citizens," he told RTÉ radio this morning.
Mr McGrath said he had been contacted by a number of his technical group colleagues on foot of the interview given by Mr Wallace to Marian Finucane on Saturday morning.
"They are upset and there will be a meeting on Tuesday where this interview will be top of the agenda."
However he said asking Mr Wallace to consider his position was a "matter for the people of Wexford".
"He’s an independent TD and there’s nothing we can do under current guidelines. I will be denouncing what he said, however."
"There is also a level of hypocrisy talking about using force in relation to debt collection whereas other people themselves are not paying their taxes and owe people money."
In the interview Mr Wallace spoke about an incident he had first referred to in 2005 in which he said he had spoken to a "hitman" about recovering a debt of £20,000 owed to him by a contractor.
In Saturday’s interview Mr Wallace said he had gone down the legal route but his solicitor had advised he would be lucky to get £13,000 before legal costs and it would take at least two years.
"I just happened to meet a guy in the pub the next night and he told me about what he did and all and how he made his living… He was a debt collector," he said.
Mr Wallace said he asked this man: "If I said to you, ‘Go get my money’, how would you do it?"
"Well, he says, I’d just need his name, he says, and the company he works for, and he says I’d find out the rest and I’d go out to his house at 8 or 9 o’clock at night . . . and I’d put my foot in the door and I’d have a gun on me and I’d give him seven days to pay and generally they pay," Mr Wallace said, adding that the price the man had quoted was £4,000.
Mr Wallace said he then met a man who had previously worked for him but who now worked for the contractor and told him he was to get his money from the contractor. " 'How did you do it?’ I said, well, I hired a hitman and explained how . . . he was going to get the money."
Mr Wallace went on to say that, two days later, he received a phone call from the owner of the company who consequently paid Mr Wallace £16,000 of the £20,000 owed to him. "But to be honest, no, I wouldn’t have sent a gunman to his door," he said.
The 2005 interview with Business and Finance differed in that Mr Wallace said he made contact with the man: "So I knew of a guy made a living out of a gun . . . I made contact with him and said: 'Listen, there’s a guy owes me €20,000 – will you get it for me?' "