Minister To Deny Pocketing IR£50,000 Donation

A former minister and EU commissioner is to appear again at the Mahon Tribunal on Wednesday to defend a IR£50,000 deposit, which he claims was a donation.

The money came to Mr Padraig Flynn from a developer, Tom Gilmartin, in 1989.

Mr Gilmartin had already appeared at the tribunal and told the hearing the donation was intended for Fianna Fail.

However, in an earlier hearing, Mr Flynn claimed: "This was a personal donation to me and not Fianna Fail."

When asked if he had written to Mr Gilmartin thanking him for the donation, Mr Flynn said he had not.

Judge Gerald Keys said he found this astonishing: "Courtesy and good manners alone would dictate that you should acknowledge this donation in writing."

Mr Flynn accepted he had spent almost IR£40,000 in his 1989 election bid, during which he was being paid IR£51,000 per annum.

Ex Minister Padraig Flynn also denies siphoning off money from his non-resident political donations account and using it to fund an investment scheme organised by his daughter Beverley.

Beverley Flynn was expelled from Fianna Fail in 2004 in connection with a failed libel case against RTÉ. However, she was readmitted to the party last week.

(DW/KMcA)