No permission given for credit union loan: Sinn Féin

A Sinn Féin internal inquiry into the party’s Cobh branch has concluded a credit union €7,000 loan was secured without party permission and that large amounts of monies were withdrawn and not repaid.

Cobh councillor Kieran McCarthy was expelled from the party this week and told that after “financial irregularities” being found at the Cork branch, that additional information has emerged.

Mr McCarthy confirmed that he had received a new email from Sinn Féin last night about his expulsion but refused to comment further, saying: “It has no evidence”.

The Irish Examiner has obtained details of Sinn Féin’s original probe into operations at the Cobh branch and its credit union account, completed last October. It found that:

• The Cobh cumann borrowed a €7,000 credit union loan in June 2013. Mr McCarthy claims this was used for the local elections campaign.
• The cumann did not keep accurate records, transactions were in cash and there was no bank account.
• The cumann was told Kieran McCarthy and his wife took a loan of €1,100 from its funds in September 2003
• Mr McCarthy borrowed a separate €300 from the account without prior approval.
• There are no records of €806 raised at a Christmas pub draw by Mr McCarthy being lodged into the credit union account.

This inquiry resulted in the Cobh cumann being stood down. The probe concluded that all outstanding loans should be repaid in full, that no new loans be approved and the practice of lending cumann funds to party members be stopped.

Senior party sources say new information has come to light since in its wider review of the east Cork area which has led to Mr McCarthy’s expulsion.

He was told verbally of these on Monday and sent an email the next day which said extra information had emerged on “financial irregularities” at the Cobh branch. He also received a further email about the financial issues last night from the party’s 26-county directorate.

When contacted by the Irish Examiner, Mr McCarthy admitted the credit union loan was taken out but he said funds he borrowed were repaid. He admitted there was a draw in Jack Doyle’s Pub in Cobh, but refused to answer further questions.

He claims Sinn Féin have done a “hatchet job” and are trying to keep him out of the race in east Cork at the next general election. In a C103 radio interview he said funds borrowed were still being repaid.