Gallagher Has 'No Problem' With P60 Publication

Following a call for "openness" Independent Presidential candidate Sean Gallagher has said he too will publish his P60.

Mr Gallagher has said that he has no problem releasing what he has earned while working with boards of three public bodies.

The presidential hopeful claims that he did not receive any money, in fees or expenses, from membership to the board of Drogheda Port Company.

Meanwhile Mr Gallagher said he donated his director's fee of €11,000 from FÁS last year to charities. He said he received €8,000-€9,000 a year from Inter Trade Ireland.

This follows fellow Independent, Mary Davis urging all candidates in the race for Aras to release their P60s in a bid for "openness".

Ms Davis published her earnings yesterday revealing that she had been paid nearly €400k in the past decade by sitting on the boards of different State and commercial companies.

Ms Davis published her P60 and gave details of the payments she received after being criticised over the weekend that she had not made her earnings transparent.

"I have called for openness in the debate regarding who should be the next President of Ireland and I am perfectly happy to practice what I preach in relation to transparency," she said in a statement.

She added: " I am putting into the public domain all of the information in relation to every body I have worked with or given advice to during my adult working life.

"I am also putting all of the details in relation to fees paid for any work done or advice given to these organisations."

Ms Davis also points out in the statement that between 1996 and the present she has had voluntary positions for 18 bodies or organisations, for which she received no fees.

Martin McGuinness, another of the Presidential candidates, has also come under fire about his salary.

Fine Gael candidate Gay Mitchell has spoken out saying: "You say you live on the average industrial wage – you earned about €200k last year. Publish your P60 – it's not true, Martin."

Meanwhile fellow candidate Senator David Norris said that he is an "open book" when it comes to his earnings and expenses.

Speaking during a visit to Cork city this morning, Senator Norris said that he would publish his P60 if asked. He said he had nothing to hide.

"I have my P60s, and I am tax compliant," he said.

Most of his income, he said, comes from his pension from Trinity College and his Senate income.

He added that he has no stocks, no shares and is not a company director.

Senator Norris has also spoken out against newspaper reports that question his eyesight and drinking.

Mr Norris said: "These stories are treated as what they are - a load of rubbish and I haven't had one person raise those questions.

"Now one of them said I had a booze problem. Do I look as if I was drunk? Do I sound drunk? Do I sound to you as if I have a hangover? I don't think so."

(LB/BMcC)