'I sincerely regret this situation': Paschal Donohoe addresses Dáil amid expenses controversy

Mr Donohoe has been under pressure to explain the particulars of his 2016 General Election expenses following the revelation that he had not declared the donation of services worth just under €1,100

Over the weekend it emerged that Mr Donohoe had not declared a payment made by an individual to six people to hang up his election posters ahead of the 2016 general election. Picture: Sam Boal /Rollingnews.ie

Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has addressed the Dáil over expenses for hanging up election posters before and after the 2016 General Election.

He said that six people were paid by an individual to hang up posters over “four dates” during the campaign period, before and after polling day.

“I was not aware before that time of any payment having been made,” Mr Donohoe told the Dáil.

He said he should have amended his election expenses in 2017 after he became aware that a corporate van had been used to hang the posters up, which he has estimated to be worth €140.

Over the weekend it emerged that Mr Donohoe had not declared a payment made by an individual to six people to hang up his election posters ahead of the 2016 general election.

The minister said he had believed the services were voluntary, but has learned in recent weeks that they were paid for, to the value of €917.

Mr Donohoe also admitted to learning in 2017 that a corporate van had been used to hang up posters, worth an estimated €140, which had not been declared as an election expense.

In the Dáil on Wednesday, Mr Donohoe said he did not intend to “misinform” the ethics watchdog Sipo and defended the businessman who paid for the posters to be erected.

“Neither myself nor any of my campaign team intentionally misinformed Sipo or knew that a form was incorrectly submitted to them at that time,” he said.

“In light of the information that has now been made available to me, I have taken the steps to address the issue as fully as I can.

“I also want to provide as much additional information as I can to the house. Mr (Michael) Stone has made no donations to me personally.

“However, in 2020 and 2021, Mr Stone made a donation to Fine Gael by the purchase of superdraw tickets which was sold by me. The donation was to the Fine Gael party centrally and within the legal limits. It is not required to be disclosed, however, as stated, I want to be fully transparent to the house.

“In 2020 it was five tickets with a donation value of €334 and in 2021 was 22 tickets with a donation value of €1,382 euro.

“Mr Stone is a man of the very highest standards. He has spent much of his life giving back to the community from which he came and I am obviously also so proud to represent. He has done so much for the Northeast in the city, and I, Ceann Comhairle, am so sorry that he has become involved in this matter of public interest.”

Finishing his statement, he said he "worked tirelessly" in any public office he has held. 

“I have always been committed to the public interest, to the common good. Honesty and integrity matter above all in public life, and I’m very sorry that this has happened.

“I sincerely regret this situation and the role I played.”

Following the statement, the opposition has been given time to ask question surrounding the controversy. 

Finishing his statement, he said he "worked tirelessly" in any public office he has held. “I sincerely regret the situation and the role I’ve played in it.”  Picture: RollingNews.ie

Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty said Mr Donohoe’s story “didn’t stack up”.

He told the Dáil: “The minister has been caught. You were trying to cover up when the allegations were put to you in 2017.

“Again last year, you tried to cover this up when the media made inquiries with specific detail in relation to all of this in terms of the political donation.

“And you claimed at the time that you reviewed this issue, and there was nothing to see here, that everything was in order.

“And now you’ve concocted a story that doesn’t stack up. Over the past five years, you’ve dodged this issue and you’ve concocted stories to make it go away.” Mr Doherty added: “You are trying to take us for fools with these concocted stories.”

Speaking in the Dáil earlier, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that Mr Donohoe is "a man of integrity" who "tells the truth".

The minister apologised for the error over the weekend, and said he had made a submission to amend his official expenses declaration.

He has also argued that the expenses are within rules on maximum expenses allowed during a general election campaign.

The statement marks a tumultuous beginning of the Dáil term for the Government, after the resignation of now former junior minister Damien English last week.

Ethics watchdog Sipo is reviewing the matter, with Mr Donohoe saying he would consider the consequences after a decision is made.

Mr Donohoe has also recused himself from making decisions on ethics legislation and Sipo, which he is in charge of as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

Government ministers have backed their colleague, arguing that he has explained his actions and that the matter lies with Sipo.

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