Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said he was made aware of a potential issue between Jim Gavin and a tenant, one day before Mr Gavin was selected as Fianna Fáil's presidential election candidate.
Mr Gavin beat MEP Billy Kelleher in a selection vote, but later dropped out of the race after it emerged he owed a former tenant more than €3,000.
Speaking after the release of Fianna Fáil's review into the presidential campaign, Mr Martin said that on 5 September, his advisor Deirdre Gillane received a phone call from the Irish Independent's Fionnán Sheehan, who asked whether the party had done their due diligence and if they knew anything about a tenant dispute with Mr Gavin.
According to Mr Martin, Ms Gillane told Seán Dorgan, Fianna Fáil’s General Secretary, who then put it to Mr Gavin, who replied: "No there’s no issue with a tenant, I never had an issue with a tenant."
"That was it," Mr Martin added.
Mr Martin, who was speaking on RTÉ's Today With David McCullagh, said he then again heard about the issue between Mr Gavin and the tenant, who was a journalist, the day before Mr Gavin was selected as the party’s candidate on 9 September.
However, he said there were "lots of rumours going on at that stage about everybody, including Jim Gavin".
"This query came in, it was put to Jim Gavin, and he said no, there’s no issue."
Mr Martin said there was no public record or court record available for anyone to confirm the existence of the dispute, and that the only way for anyone to be aware of it was through a primary source, be it the tenant or Mr Gavin.
"He was very categoric that there was no issue, and he said he never had a journalist as a tenant even. That was his recollection. He might not have been aware the person was a journalist."
Mr Martin confirmed that the Fianna Fáil report was sent to Mr Gavin’s lawyers, but that his understanding was that no substantive changes were made, bar some personal details that may have been taken out.
Mr Martin has said he has accepted "we didn't get this right", about the process to select Mr Gavin as the party's presidential candidate and that he has "taken full responsibility for that".
Mr Martin said: "Jim Gavin came to the table with very significant strengths".
When asked why he only had one meeting with Mr Gavin prior to his selection as candidate Mr Martin said he had also met him at an event Mr Gavin had chaired.
He said: "I actually did a lot of informal sounding-out of people who'd worked with him", adding he got "very little negative feedback about Jim Gavin".
The Taoiseach said: "Our process is not correct" and "we did nothing different to what happened in '97 and 1990, but it's not a good process".
He also said "there should be certain deadlines set" in future.
Mr Martin said that the other potential candidates that Fianna Fáil tested in polling were not at the level required to go forward.
He added that he only had one meeting with Mr Gavin "in the context of the president" but he had met the former Dublin GAA manager prior to that.
"I would have attended an event in the North East Inner City, for example, where he chaired and we had a very, very enjoyable event.
"I hadn't contemplated him being President or anything like that, but the affection there for him was quite evident and, again, the feedback was a very capable individual," Mr Martin said.
The Taoiseach added that the one meeting he had with Mr Gavin about the presidency was "a long couple of hours on it, discussed going through it, at that stage, he wasn't committed at that stage".
"I said I thought he would have a very good chance... I also went through the pressures and the stresses and the challenges and how it could go wrong and went through all of that and he wanted to discuss it further with his family.
"At that stage, we had tested other candidates in polling terms who, quite frankly, wouldn't have been at the level that would have been required.
"And again, the ultimate test was people had to go before the parliamentary party.
"But at that stage, you know, when I was talking to him in July, I didn't have other candidates really on the field."
'We didn't have other candidates that had a chance'
Mr Martin said that polling suggested Gavin was the only potential Fianna Fáil candidate that could win and that he had received no indication from MEP Billy Kelleher that he wanted to be a Presidential Election candidate until late August.
"We didn't have other candidates that had a chance, let’s be frank, that’s the reality.
"We did nothing different to what happened in [the presidential election campaigns] in 1997 and 1990, but it's not a good process.
"I don't want to be talking about individual candidates within the [parliamentary party], there were a lot of informal soundings going on, but I accept that, into the future, that's not a basis for how we select candidates."
"What should happen into the future, there should be certain deadlines set.
"People should put their hands up if they want to be candidates much earlier."
Mr Martin said he accepted "full responsibility" for the failed campaign but said he would not be putting down a motion of confidence in himself for the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party,
"I don’t believe I need to... at all," he said.
"I’ve had substantial engagement with TDs and senators over the past two months. This was a major, major setback, a devastating outcome for the party.
"I didn’t want this and I’ve made it very clear, I take full responsibility, I’m sorry for what happened and I said this to the party membership.
"Everyone acted in good faith here; we wanted to win the election.
"The previous year we won the general election; we were the largest party in the local elections.
Fianna Fáil 'damaged' admits Cork TD
Earlier, a Fianna Fáil TD said Mr Martin's leadership of the party was secure after the review of the party’s selection of Mr Gavin as its candidate was released to parliamentary party members.
The Taoiseach's handling of the selection process was heavily criticised at a party meeting in Leinster House last night which lasted almost five hours.
Several TDs and Senators had expressed frustration at the process and accused Mr Martin of sidelining the parliamentary party.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Cork South-Central TD Séamus McGrath said Fianna Fáil was "damaged" from the debacle but can recover.
"We had a very important meeting last night. Obviously, the report was distributed to the parliamentary party yesterday."
He described it as a very honest, open and frank discussion, adding that "there was a lot of criticism".
Mr McGrath said that Mr Martin was aware of the claims made against Mr Gavin by a former tenant of his, but was assured by the former Dublin GAA manager that it would not be an issue.
Mr McGrath said it was time for Fianna Fáil to draw a line under the episode and move on.
"There was also a strong sense that it's time that the party moves on now. We have to take the lessons from the whole debacle around the presidential election," he said.
'No public records available to check'
Minister of State for European Affairs and Fianna Fáil TD Thomas Byrne said the party was relying on what Mr Gavin said regarding the issue with a tenant and there were no public records available to check.
Speaking the same programme, Mr Byrne also claimed there was "no specific information" provided to Fianna Fáil to follow up on media queries.
"There are no public records available of disputes with tenants or issues with tenants. They simply don't exist.
"There were, as part of the due diligence and is stated in the report, that there were searches done on public records and that's standard.
"But public records wouldn't have any of this information, you are relying on the candidate," Mr Byrne said.
Mr Byrne said "lots of questions" were coming into the party at the time of the media queries about an unpaid refund on rent to the tenant.
"There were other issues which were being played out on social media at the time, completely false allegations about Jim Gavin.
"And that's the context that we're in. You ask the candidate, you do your due diligence. That's what's happened," he said.
