The Mahon Report, which was finally published yesterday 15 years after the Mahon Tribunal was established, has produced a number of damning conclusions against Pádraig Flynn.
The Castlebar native, a former Fianna Fáil TD, who had ministerial positions for justice, environment, and trade and commerce, and was later a European commissioner, was found to have “wrongfully and corruptly sought a substantial donation from Mr [Tom] Gilmartin for the Fianna Fáil party, and having been paid IR£50,000 by Mr Gilmartin for that purpose, proceeded to utilise the money for his personal benefit”, according to the report.
The tribunal also found that this £50,000 was used to fund at least a significant proportion of the purchase of a farm in Clooanasss, Co Mayo, in the name of his wife Dorothy.
Mr Flynn had given his evidence to the Mahon Tribunal in July 2004 following evidence given by Mr Gilmartin earlier that year. The tribunal found in its report that Mr Gilmartin made the donation because he felt he had to do so in order to ensure elected officials would not block his plans for a major shopping centre at Quarryvale in Dublin, now known as Liffey Valley.
Flynn’s infamous Late Late Show appearance in 1999 when he was still EU Commissioner, the transmission of which was seen by Mr Gilmartin in England, is believed to have spurred the developer to give his evidence to the tribunal. In the Late Late Show interview Mr Flynn stated: “I never asked or took money from anyone to do favours for anyone in my life” before later in the same interview saying “I never took money from anybody to do a politcal favour as far as planning is concerned”, and when asked if he knew Tom Gilmartin he said he did, adding, “He’s not well, his wife’s not well, he’s out of sorts.”
The report also found that the cheque given to Flynn had no payee filled out, at the request of the former Minister for Justice. The report states: “Mr Gilmartin presented Mr Flynn with a cheque, in which the payee section of the cheque was left blank, at Mr Flynn’s request. The Tribunal was satisfied that the word ‘cash’ was written on the cheque subsequently by Mr Flynn (or a person on his behalf ).”
The tribunal’s findings also concluded that Mr Gilmartin had given Mr Flynn the cheque with the belief that it would be used for the party and noted: “The Tribunal was satisfied that Mr Flynn, at the time he accepted the cheque from Mr Gilmartin, was aware of Mr Gilmartin’s belief.”
The fact that Flynn had received the £50,000 cheque, which is believed to have happened in April 1999, was well known among senior Fianna Fáil figures, the report concludes. According to the report, Bertie Ahern knew about it in 1989 and Albert Reynolds knew about it in 1992, the same year he appointed him to the position of Minister for Justice, before appointing him EU Commissioner the following year. The tribunal also found it “noteworthy” that Bertie Ahern never asked Mr Flynn about the check until either 1998 or 1999 after the tribunal had been initially set up.
Current Mayo Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary, speaking on national radio yesterday, said he was “personally very disappointed” with the tribunal findings, which he described as “very stark”. He added: “The vast majority of people in Fianna Fáil are disgusted by the report and it is stomach churning for all the good people in the party, but the party will be facing this head on.”
Dep Calleary refused to be drawn on commenting on individual cases yesterday afternoon, stating he did not wish to say anything until the party officials met yesterday evening to discuss the matter. However party leader Mícheál Martin would make a statement on it this [Friday] morning, he concluded.
