Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he was alerted to a possible issue involving Jim Gavin and a former tenant before Mr Gavin was chosen as Fianna Fáil’s presidential election nominee.
Mr Gavin defeated MEP Billy Kelleher in a selection ballot, but later withdrew from the contest after it came to light that he owed a former tenant over €3,000, reports RTE.
Speaking following the publication of Fianna Fáil’s review of the presidential campaign, Mr Martin said that on 5 September his adviser Deirdre Gillane received a call from Irish Independent journalist Fionnán Sheehan, who asked whether the party had carried out due diligence and if it was aware of any tenant dispute involving Mr Gavin.
Mr Martin said Ms Gillane informed him and Fianna Fáil General Secretary Seán Dorgan, who then raised the matter with Mr Gavin, reports RTE.
According to Mr Martin, Mr Gavin told Mr Dorgan: “No there’s no issue with a tenant, I never had an issue with a tenant,” reports RTE.
“That was it,” Mr Martin added, reports RTE.
However, the Taoiseach stressed that at that point no one was aware that money was owed.
“It was a query, and it was nothing near what subsequently emerged,” reports RTE.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today With David McCullagh, Mr Martin said he again became aware of the issue between Mr Gavin and the tenant, who was a journalist, the day before Mr Gavin was selected as the party’s candidate on 9 September.
He said that at the time there were “lots of rumours going on at that stage about everybody, including Jim Gavin”, reports RTE.
“This query came in, it was put to Jim Gavin, and he said ‘no, there’s no issue’,” reports RTE.
Mr Martin said there was no public or court record available to confirm the existence of the dispute, and that the only way anyone could have known about it was through a primary source, either the tenant or Mr Gavin.
“He was very categoric that there was no issue, and he said he never had a journalist as a tenant even. That was his recollection. He might not have been aware the person was a journalist,” reports RTE.
Mr Martin confirmed that Fianna Fáil’s report was sent to Mr Gavin’s lawyers, and that to his understanding no substantive changes were made other than the removal of some personal details.
Mr Martin said he accepted that “we didn’t get this right”, in relation to the process used to select Mr Gavin as the party’s presidential candidate, and said he had “taken full responsibility for that”, reports RTE.
Mr Martin said: “Jim Gavin came to the table with very significant strengths”, reports RTE.
When asked why he had only one meeting with Mr Gavin before his selection, Mr Martin said he had also met him at an event chaired by Mr Gavin.
He said: “I actually did a lot of informal sounding-out of people who’d worked with him”, adding that he received “very little negative feedback about Jim Gavin”, reports RTE.
The Taoiseach said: “Our process is not correct” and that “we did nothing different to what happened in ’97 and 1990, but it’s not a good process”, reports RTE.
He also said “there should be certain deadlines set” in the future.
Mr Martin said the other potential candidates Fianna Fáil tested in opinion polling were not of the required standard to proceed, reports RTE.
He added that he had only one meeting with Mr Gavin “in the context of the president” but had met the former Dublin GAA manager previously.
“I would have attended an event in the North East Inner City, for example, where he chaired and we had a very, very enjoyable event.
“I hadn’t contemplated him being President or anything like that, but the affection there for him was quite evident and, again, the feedback was a very capable individual,” Mr Martin said, reports RTE.
The Taoiseach said the single meeting he had with Mr Gavin about the presidency lasted “a long couple of hours”, during which they discussed the role, and at that stage Mr Gavin had not committed.
“I said I thought he would have a very good chance … I also went through the pressures and the stresses and the challenges and how it could go wrong and went through all of that and he wanted to discuss it further with his family.
“At that stage, we had tested other candidates in polling terms who, quite frankly, wouldn’t have been at the level that would have been required.
“And again, the ultimate test was people had to go before the parliamentary party.
“But at that stage, you know, when I was talking to him in July, I didn’t have other candidates really on the field,” reports RTE.
Mr Martin said polling indicated Mr Gavin was the only potential Fianna Fáil candidate capable of winning, and that he had not received any indication from Mr Kelleher of interest in running until late August.
“We didn’t have other candidates that had a chance, let’s be frank, that’s the reality … people should put their hands up if they want to be candidates much earlier,” reports RTE.
Mr Martin said he accepted “full responsibility” for the unsuccessful campaign but said he would not table a motion of confidence in himself for the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party.
“I don’t believe I need to… at all,” he said, reports RTE.
“I’ve had substantial engagement with TDs and senators over the past two months. This was a major, major setback, a devastating outcome for the party.
“I didn’t want this and I’ve made it very clear, I take full responsibility, I’m sorry for what happened and I said this to the party membership.
“Everyone acted in good faith here; we wanted to win the election.
“The previous year we won the general election; we were the largest party in the local elections,” reports RTE.
The report states that on 5 September, Chief of Staff at the Department of the Taoiseach Deirdre Gillane received a phone call from Irish Independent journalist Fionnán Sheahan.
He said there may have been an issue involving a tenant, reports RTE.
The matter was put to Mr Gavin by General Secretary Seán Dorgan, and Mr Gavin said he was not aware of any such issue.
Nominations for consideration as Fianna Fáil’s presidential candidate closed at 5pm that day, reports RTE.
On 8 September, Mr Sheahan sent an email to Fianna Fáil stating: “Following on from the request for an interview, would you mind letting me know when Jim Gavin will be responding to media queries,” reports RTE.
The email continued: “I have some specific questions I wish to put to him about property interests and a particular issue arising with a tenant when he was a landlord,” reports RTE.
Mr Dorgan again raised the matter with Mr Gavin.
Later, Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart sent a text to Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers referring to a potential issue involving a tenant, who was a journalist, and the return of a deposit, reports RTE.
This message was forwarded to Mr Dorgan, who again raised the issue with Mr Gavin.
In response to both queries, Mr Gavin said he had no recollection of any such issue or of a deposit not being returned, reports RTE.
The report states that the anticipated cost of the campaign is between €350,000 and €400,000. As Mr Gavin’s vote did not reach the required threshold, the party will not be able to recover some of these costs, reports RTE.
The review found that Mr Gavin was first suggested as a candidate in the week of 9 June, when former Dublin footballer Keith Barr contacted Mr Chambers recommending him as a potential Fianna Fáil nominee.
This was followed by a text message dated 15 June from Mr Gavin to Mr Chambers seeking to follow up on that initial contact, reports RTE.
Due diligence on the candidate was carried out by Seán Dorgan, adviser Peter Dorgan and Assistant General Secretary Darragh McShea.
The report says they believed the process was “exhaustive”, reports RTE.
“This included providing a warning regarding the intense scrutiny and media attention that would be applied to a candidate, and the consequential need to brief the party on all relevant matters at an early stage,” it says, reports RTE.
The report says due diligence involved research, examination of public documents, media coverage and several meetings with Mr Gavin.
It says that during the process, a range of questions were raised about Mr Gavin’s role as a landlord and potential issues that could arise from it, reports RTE.
“It was stated that any disgruntled tenant would almost certainly raise their grievance publicly,” it says, reports RTE.
“Mr Gavin did not recall any potential issues when the topic was addressed even in the light of Deputy Lahart’s and Mr Sheahan’s communications and nothing further was done,” reports RTE.
The report was published and emailed to members of the parliamentary party at 6pm yesterday.
It runs to 25 pages and includes chapters on the decision to run a presidential candidate, the identification and selection process, the extent of due diligence undertaken, and the basis for selecting a candidate, reports RTE.
It also contains a chapter outlining possible changes to the procedure for selecting candidates in future presidential elections.
The review was established to examine the steps taken in identifying and selecting Mr Gavin as Fianna Fáil’s presidential nominee, and the basis on which he was chosen as a candidate, reports RTE.
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