The former tenant of ex-presidency contender Jim Gavin has said he “feels sorry” for him.
Fianna Fail has been dealing with the fallout of Mr Gavin’s shock withdrawal on Sunday night after he came under scrutiny over claims a tenant had failed to recover 3,300 euros in overpaid rent from Mr Gavin 16 years ago.
Mr Gavin said it was a “very, very stressful time” for him and his family and a lot of families were in “financial difficulty” at that time.
The tenant who made the allegations against Mr Gavin, Niall Donald, on Wednesday told a podcast he co-hosts he feels sorry for his former landlord, saying: “I do feel that maybe he’s been punished too much.
“Does the punishment fit the crime? Probably not. I kind of feel sorry for him that he wasn’t handled better.”
Speaking on Crime World with Nicola Tallant, the Sunday World deputy editor said he could empathise with the financial difficulties Mr Gavin was facing at the time, telling his co-host: “Maybe he had huge pressures, and I was just one little one of them, maybe it wasn’t even the biggest one.”
But Mr Donald has expressed astonishment at how Fianna Fail handled the situation, claiming the party had been aware of the story for weeks, saying: “Why didn’t they just contact me a few weeks ago and sort it out, or explain it to me, or explain it to somebody?”
Though Mr Donald said on the podcast he had not yet been contacted by Mr Gavin, a statement issued to RTE by a legal representative for Mr Gavin said they had “reached out” to Mr Donald and said they had been told to pay him 3,300 euros “subject to clarifying two issues”.
It comes as Fianna Fail members express their disappointment and frustration at the party’s presidential candidate dramatically withdrawing from the race.
Questions about Taoiseach Micheal Martin’s leadership have been raised after he publicly backed Mr Gavin over party politicians.
Justice minister Jim O’Callaghan said being leader of Fianna Fail would be something he aspires to “in the future” but was not an “immediate concern” as he praised Mr Martin.
He said it was an “extremely difficult time” for Mr Gavin and his family and said electoral politics is not easy.
Mr O’Callaghan added: “It’s all very easy to be sort of wise after the event.
“I don’t believe anyone in Fianna Fail has thrown Jim Gavin under a bus, I think my abiding concern and the concern of everyone in Fianna Fail is about his welfare and to ensure that he gets through what is an extremely difficult time.”
Mr Martin said that if Bertie Ahern had been chosen as Fianna Fail’s presidential candidate, it would have been “bruising” for him.
The Fianna Fail leader said he accepted the desire from his party that it would run a candidate.
“I did recommend that, I’m not responsible for everything that unfolded, obviously, because we would have been totally unaware of the issue despite very comprehensive due diligence,” Mr Martin told the Pat Kenny Show on Newstalk.
He said, before the summer recess, the party did not have a candidate and “no-one” in the party expressed an interest in running for the presidency until the end of July.
Mr Martin said this included MEP Billy Kelleher, who would go on to run against Mr Gavin for the party’s election nomination.
He narrowly lost to Mr Gavin in early September in a vote by the Fianna Fail parliamentary party.
Others who have said publicly they wanted to win the Fianna Fail nomination include former taoiseach and Fianna Fail leader Mr Ahern, former Fianna Fail minister Mary Hanafin, and former singer and campaigner Bob Geldof.
“I don’t think Bertie would have made it, nothing against Bertie at all, I have great respect for Bertie Ahern because of what he did for the peace process,” Mr Martin said.
“It’s one of the single greatest achievements in Irish society, that peace process, and he deserves huge credit for that.
“It would have been incredibly bruising for him, I don’t know why he would want to bring it upon himself.”
He said Mr Gavin’s issue was one issue and one situation and referred to the “enormity” of what would be “churned out” against Mr Ahern.
Asked about a query Fianna Fail received from the Irish Independent on September 8 about a tenant issue with Mr Gavin, Mr Martin said: “‘Are you aware of’ was the type of question and the answer was, ‘no we’re not’.”
He said the issue was put to Mr Gavin and he denied it.
Mr Martin said: “There was other rumours as well and this is very difficult for people who put themselves forward.”
He said he had not spoken to Mr Gavin since Sunday but he would.
Mr Martin said: “I feel very sorry for him. It’s been very traumatic for him because this is a man who has achieved a lot.”
Mr Gavin’s withdrawal less than three weeks before polling day means his name will remain on the ballot paper.
Just two candidates are left in the race for the presidency: left-wing independent Catherine Connolly, who is backed by various opposition parties including Sinn Fein, and Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys, a former social protection minister.
Polling day is on October 24.
