The Moriarty Tribunal has been hearing this morning how money from the FF party leader's allowance fund which includes Exchequer Funds was used to clear the debts of a TD who was facing bankruptcy. In a statement to the Tribunal, Deputy John Ellis, Fianna Fail TD for Sligo-Leitrim said that he was facing bankruptcy on two occasions in late 1989 and early 1990.
Charles Haughey told him that Fianna Fail would try to rescue him given the size of the party majority in the Dáil Éireann at that time.
Mr Ellis went to the Taoiseach's office in December of 1989 and collected £12,400 which was subsequently paid to Manorhamilton Mart to defray his debts. In March of 1990 he received £13,000 from Mr Haughey to clear a debt with Swinford in County Mayo. In his statement Deputy Ellis said that he believed the money was FF party funds. He said that he was not aware that the leaders allowance fund included state funding.
Earlier, the Tribunal was told of further payments that were made to Fianna Fail by the Irish Permanent Building Society. Counsel for the Tribunal said that two cheques for a total of £100,000 and one for £40,000 were made out to Fianna Fail in 1986 and 1991. These were in addition to earlier payments referred to the Tribunal. Counsel said that they were endorsed by Fianna Fail and by Charles Haughey, and were lodged to the party leader’s account, but that the party had no record of the cheques and no receipts were issued.
The Tribunal has made a connection between two payments totalling £16,000 to a firm of Paris shirtmakers, which may have come from the Party Leader's fund. The Tribunal also heard that a cheque intended for the late Brian Lenihan's medical expenses was most probably cashed.
