Dara Murphy defends €85 breakfast fundraiser

Fine Gael junior minister Dara Murphy has defended his controversial €85-a-head fundraising breakfast with the justice minister, and insisted he has “nothing to hide”.

Security was tight in and around Cork’s Imperial Hotel from 7am yesterday as about a dozen protesters targeted the event, attended by about 140 people.

But the Cork North Central TD and minister for European affairs and data protection, who spoke to the protesters at the hotel entrance, defended his right to organise such fundraisers.

The breakfast is expected to raise up to €12,000 of the €15,000 Mr Murphy estimates his election campaign will cost. “This will be put into an election account as is required by the Standards in Public Office,” he said.

“People do dog nights, card nights, lunches, dinners — we’re having a breakfast. We’re probably the first, I think that’s why it’s stirred a bit of interest.

“Since we abolished corporate donations, and because there are caps on what people can donate, it has become a requirement for people to do a mix of fund- raising to bring in the few bob.

“When people see my election posters up ahead of the next general election, they will know where they came from. We’ve nothing to hide. All political parties do it.”

He also dismissed claims he is cash-strapped after the collapse of his catering business five years ago, confirming he has arrangements in place to repay less than €100,000 to various banks.

He stressed the fundraising breakfast was for his general election campaign, and had nothing to do with his personal finances.

Anti Austerity Alliance Cllr Marion O’Sullivan said the cost of attending the breakfast is more than some struggling families can afford to spend on groceries.

“It is obscene that a TD can be so out of touch he doesn’t realise it’s insulting to many that he charges €85 for this breakfast at the same time that considerable numbers of people are being forced to skip meals to balance household budgets,” she said.

“Dara should really wake up and smell the coffee. If he doesn’t I have a funny feeling he might just be toast at the next election.”

Mr Murphy accepted €85 was a lot for some. “But the democratic process is expensive. All parties will spend money on a general election campaign,” he said.

Among those who attended the event were developers Michael O’Flynn and Owen O’Callaghan, former Bord Gáis boss John Mullins, and Barry Galvin, the former legal officer with the Criminal Assets Bureau.