Developer's donation of £10,000 'helped O'Keeffe reclaim Dail seat'
Government Minister Batt O'Keeffe spent more than IR£10,000 getting elected to the Dail in 1992, the Mahon Tribunal heard.
A IR£10,000 political donation from developer Owen O'Callaghan boosted his campaign fund and Mr O'Callaghan's money was spent on the ongoing expenses of the pre- and post-election campaign, the housing minister said yesterday.
The minister said the November 1992 election was critical for him as he had lost his seat in the 1989 election.
"I was fighting for my political life," he said.
An unsolicited political donation of IR£10,000 "with no strings attached" arrived from Mr O'Callaghan in the middle of the election campaign, the minister said, adding he knew Mr O'Callaghan and his family well.
Mr O'Keeffe said he transferred IR£9,000 of Mr O'Callaghan's donation into a high-earning interest account and put the balance into a general office account for the convenience of the three people working in his office. He was not a signatory to this account.
"There were no rules or regulations at that time. It was common practice to intermingle personal funds with political donations," Mr O'Keeffe said.
The minister also told the tribunal there was no truth in the allegation made by lobbyist Frank Dunlop that he had been told by Mr O'Callaghan that he (Mr O'Keeffe) had advised Mr O'Callaghan to make a political donation to another FF politician, Dublin-based GV Wright.
- Lorna Reid
