'Little if none' of money used for farm - Flynn

"Little if none" of Mr Tom Gilmartin's £50,000 donation to Mr Pádraig Flynn was used in the purchase of a farm by Mr Flynn's wife, the former EU commissioner has told the tribunal

Mr Flynn rejected the contention by tribunal lawyers that Mrs Dorothy Flynn's purchase of a farm at Coolanass, Co Mayo, in 1997 was substantially funded from the Gilmartin money.

Last week, the tribunal heard that Mrs Flynn successfully applied for an EU grant for planting trees on the land, worth £140,000 over 20 years.

Yesterday, Mr Flynn agreed that the reason the application came from his wife was because he would not be in a position to convince anyone that he was a farmer.

Grant applicants had to show they earned 25 per cent of income from farming. Mrs Flynn had no income aside from £1,100 earned from the sale of hay on the land, which was bought by the vendors.

Mr Flynn also agreed that his wife had never walked the land.

Earlier, tribunal lawyers traced the movement of Mr Gilmartin's donation through accounts owned by the Flynns. Several months after his cheque was lodged in a non-resident account at their branch in Castlebar, two withdrawals of £25,000 were made.

Mr Flynn said these withdrawals could not be "aligned exclusively" with the money Mr Gilmartin had given him. However, he accepted the money was used to defray election expenses and to fund investments.

The first withdrawal was used to cover election expenses.

As for the second withdrawal, Mr Flynn said he believed he asked his wife to obtain a bank draft for £25,000. This was passed to his daughter, Ms Beverley Flynn, who invested the money in unit trusts.

In 1996, two of these investments were encashed and lodged in a non-resident account with NIB Monaghan in the names of Pádraig and Dorothy Flynn.

Two withdrawals were made early in 1997.

Mr Flynn said £25,000 which was withdrawn was used to build a new roadway at Carrowbridge, presents for the family, new house furnishings, holidays and general spending.

A second withdrawal of £37,553 was used to purchase the 100 acres of land at Coolanass.