Jim Gavin was told before he became the Fianna Fáil candidate for the presidency that any disputes with former tenants would come to light, but he repeatedly told the party he had no recollection of any issue, according to an internal review of the doomed campaign.
The report – which has recently been circulated to Fianna Fáil TDs – does not appear to contain any previously unknown “smoking gun” about the party’s disastrous presidential campaign, though TDs may be annoyed that Mr Gavin’s candidacy was being considered by the party leadership for months before they found out.
However, the report makes clear that many potential candidates were in the mix over the summer period.
Taoiseach and party leader Micheál Martin is likely to face sharp criticism at a meeting of his parliamentary party on Tuesday evening, with rumours of a motion of no-confidence circulating at Leinster House and some TDs suggesting that party rebels were already seeking signatures for a motion of no confidence.
Mr Gavin was asked again about any dispute with a tenant before the parliamentary party meeting that saw him chosen above Billy Kelleher – but again told party officials he had no recollection of any dispute.
However, the report does not say Mr Martin or his chief of staff Deirdre Gillane were in possession of any detailed information about the dispute between Mr Gavin and his tenant before they sought support for his candidacy among Fianna Fáil TDs.
Jim Gavin and Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the launch for Gavin’s presidential election campaign in Dublin in September. Photograph: Dan Dennison
The report says Mr Gavin was subjected to a more intensive due diligence process than any previous candidate for the party in any election, in which it was stressed to him that any past disputes or controversies were likely to come out. Ultimately, party officials accepted Mr Gavin’s assurances that he could not recall any disputes.
But once the existence of a dispute with the former tenant was revealed, and that Mr Gavin owed the man €3,300, Mr Martin and deputy leader Jack Chambers told him they were no longer in a position to ask the parliamentary party to continue its support for him.
Mr Gavin had been suggested to Mr Chambers as a possible candidate by the former Dublin footballer Keith Barr in early June and he was approached soon afterwards, meeting with Mr Chambers later that month. After a series of discussions, including with Mr Martin on July 21st, he confirmed his interest in being the party’s candidate to party general secretary Seán Dorgan on August 1st.
However, this information was kept quiet by the party leadership, as they did not want Gavin’s candidacy to become public during the August silly season.
The report also reveals that MEP Billy Kelleher urged Mr Martin to stand for the presidency in mid-August in a text message to Mr Martin’s chief of staff Deirdre Gillane, in which he said it was “unimportant to me” as he was now in Brussels. This was just five days before Mr Kelleher requested a special parliamentary party meeting to consider the issue.
Shortly afterwards, in a telephone call between the two men, Mr Kelleher indicated to Mr Martin he would not seek the nomination if Mr Martin had a preferred candidate, though the two men agreed to discuss the issue again. However, Mr Kelleher would go on to change his mind and declared his candidacy after Mr Martin and Mr Chambers had begun contacting members of the parliamentary party to seek support for Mr Gavin.
The report says the party was not given details about the tenant dispute and the €3,300 owed to the tenant until October 2nd. The party again put the allegations to Mr Gavin, who again said he had no recollection of any dispute or money owing. The party issued a statement in response to the questions. The following day, seeing the party’s denials on Mr Gavin’s behalf, the tenant – Sunday World deputy editor Niall Donald – contacted Fianna Fáil.
Following discussions with the party leadership, Mr Gavin ended his campaign the next day, after Mr Martin and Mr Chambers told him they could not ask the organisation to continue campaigning for him.
The report says the botched campaign will cost the party between €350,000 and €400,000.
The report makes a number of recommendations about how presidential candidates should be selected in future, pointing to the absence of any formal rules currently in existence. There is not, it says, and has never been a procedure by which a person can seek to be the Fianna Fáil candidate.
It says the new rules should be drawn up by an internal rules committee and adopted by an ardfheis. It stresses adequate time should be set aside for the process to take place in advance of a presidential election. It says the process as carried out this year placed some potential candidates at a disadvantage because they could not officially declare their candidacy until September 2nd.
The report will be discussed at what is expected to be a stormy Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting at Leinster House on Tuesday evening.
Mr Gavin has been contacted for comment.