Dunne says he cried for Haughey as he appeared at tribunal

Mr Ben Dunne has said he gave money to Mr Charles Haughey because he was in trouble and that he cried for him during the McCracken…

Mr Ben Dunne has said he gave money to Mr Charles Haughey because he was in trouble and that he cried for him during the McCracken Tribunal.

In an interview with Joe Duffy on RTE Radio 1, Mr Dunne that it had to be remembered that he was a charitable person.

"Someone with £200 says there is a pound for the poor black babies in Africa, or there is something for the church or there is a person in a bit of trouble, there is a tenner. Because of the size of the organisation I ran I gave money away. That is how it came about."

He did not regret giving the money but there were things he might not do again. He said he admired Mr Haughey and had affection for him. He felt bad about what had happened to Mr Haughey and Mr Michael Lowry. He was sad their careers were damaged by things he had done for them.

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He had not contacted either man since the tribunal. However, he had no doubt he would meet both again and he would say how sorry he was.

Asked if every politician he had given money to had been mentioned, he said that he believed so, but he might have given £1,000 here or £2,000 there.

Asked if he would ever enter politics, he said he was interested in politics. He would like to be on the panel of Questions and Answers.

When asked to name his favourite politicians, Mr Dunne said "he had not been elected yet". "I was very, very sad about Charlie Haughey. I cried for him. No one needed that, after all that he had done. He is an old man. It was sad to see him humiliated."