Daniel McConnell: They huffed and puffed but failed to blow Paschal down

Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe on his way into Government Buildings for a meeting Cabinet this morning. Picture: Damien Storan

“I don’t know if you are interested in my answer or my head,” Paschal Donohoe barbed across the Dáil toward Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty in the sharpest clash of the day.

Having been made to wait for almost a week, the national parliament once again set aside time to allow the President of the Eurogroup explain how he failed to properly declare election expenses of less than €5,000 over two elections.

With the amount of money so small and insignificant, and in the absence of a smoking gun, Donohoe came into the showdown comfortable in the knowledge that his ministerial future was not on the line.

As hard as the opposition has tried to huff and puff on this matter, and they weren’t even trying that hard yesterday, they were not calling for Donohoe’s head or putting down motions of no confidence in him.

His position was helped by the release of an early morning statement from the donor at the centre of this controversy, businessman Michael Stone, of the Designer Group.

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With a strong whiff of political choreography at play, Stone dutifully sought to take the blame for the affair.

He said that Donohoe had asked him last month whether he had provided help with the 2020 election in terms of postering as he had done in 2016.

“I mistakenly believed that I had not and told him so. On Wednesday, 18th January 2023, I again confirmed to him my mistaken recollection,” he said.

Stone said that when the matter was raised in the Dáil last Wednesday, he had the matter rechecked and discovered that his recollection was wrong and that, in fact, similar assistance had been given with postering in the 2020 election.

“I immediately contacted Paschal and told him so and apologised for my mistake. The help given in 2020 was arranged through a member of the Fine Gael team in Dublin Central and I had not discussed it with Paschal at that time,” he said.

Stone confirmed that in 2020, he paid personally for six people, working in three pairs, to help with postering. 

This assistance was provided on five dates across the campaign period, before and after polling day, at a cost of €972. He added:

I also arranged to supply some of these individuals with vans for the period they worked which I now know had a commercial value of €434.20.”

Stone also confirmed that he was resigning from the two voluntary state boards he is involved with, both aimed at improving the Dublin North East inner city region.

Details that a second complaint has been sent to the Standards in Public Office Commission (Sipo) or that he appeared to fail to declare a directorship while he was in a Seanad, which emerged during the day, had little impact on the day’s proceedings.

In the Dáil, Donohoe confirmed his intention to refund a €234 to Stone’s company as he acknowledged a double breach of the electoral rules relating to donations.

Michael Stone has issued a statement apologising for his role in the provision of undeclared expenses to Minister Paschal Donohoe during the 2016 general election campaign. Picture: James Horan/RollingNews.ie

He said he was now aware that an unauthorised corporate donation of €434.20 was unknowingly received by Fine Gael Dublin Central.

This was in the form of the use of vehicles, the commercial value of which exceeded the maximum allowable donation limit of €200. 

Sipo has been notified of this breach and €234.20, the amount received in excess of the allowable limit, will be refunded to the Designer Group. An amendment will also be made this week to his election expenses return to the value of €1256.20 for the work carried out and use of the vans up to polling day, he said.

Donohoe insisted the donation at the heart of this is the commercial value that is attributed to posters that Donohoe said he did not know were being paid for and that he assumed to be voluntary.

Pearse Doherty failed to land a blow, as did Ged Nash of Labour, whose only tangible contribution was to state that Donohoe was guilty of a double breach of the electoral laws.

In her pedestrian contribution and having complained so bitterly about the rules being broken, there was some irony when Róisín Shortall blithely sought to ignore the rules on speaking time by continuing to talk well after her alotted time concluded. 

Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl was visibly vexed.

Opposition TD after TD took to their feet, but the tension withered visibly before our eyes.

The rapid emptying out of the Dáil chamber by Sinn Féin TDs told its own story.

The minister was safe. Donohoe will know this was a saga of his own making and the length of time it has taken to put to bed has again been his own fault.

He stands bruised and damaged but he will count himself lucky that he is still standing.