A Clare Professor of politics believes Paschal Donohoe’s future will hinge on what he has to say during Dáil questions today.
It comes after it’s emerged that a businessman paid for postering to be carried out for the Minister in the 2020 election, as well as the 2016 campaign.
Mr Michael Stone says he contributed 1,400 euro to the campaign, but forgot he did so.
Ahead of Paschal Donohoe’s Dáil statement later about election expenses paid by Michael Stone in 2016, Mr Stone revealed this morning he’d discovered similar payments from the 2020 election.
Mr Stone says he personally paid for six people to help with postering at a cost of 972 euro, and paid for the use of vans worth 434 euro.
Mr Stone says he didn’t know his almost 1,100 euro donation in 2016 needed to be counted for in electoral expenses, and that he forgot until last week about the 1,400 euro from 2020.
He says when Paschal Donohoe approached him in December to ask whether any more were made, he mistakenly told him no.
Mr Stone says he deeply regrets any embarrassment he’s brought the Minister. He’s stepped down from roles he held on the North Inner City Taskforce and the Land Development Agency, both of which he undertook without pay or expenses.
The further revelations have put more pressure on Paschal Donohoe ahead of this afternoon’s Dáil statement.
Professor of Politics at DCU, Newmarket on Fergus native Donnacha O’Beachain says Government parties will hope this development will take heat out of the issue, but he doesn’t think so.
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Clare TD Joe Carey is among them. The Clarecastle Deputy says the general public isn’t as concerned about the controversy surrounding the Public Expenditure Minister as opposition Deputies are.
