Doherty criticises ‘political’ attacks over firm’s debts

Government chief whip Regina Doherty has hit out at what she believes are politically-motivated attacks on her character over the liquidation of a family company three years ago.

"I haven't hidden anything. I'm not happy or proud of what's happened in the last number of years. In some sense, I probably do feel guilty and responsible and I don't think that'll ever go away but I'm not a bad person," she told RTÉ Radio's Saturday with Clare Byrne show.

“I had a tough time in business. I’ve learnt probably more from that one, horrible experience in my life than everything else… and I’m a very lucky person.”

Ms Doherty and her husband Declan Doherty were the main directors of Enhanced Solutions, a hardware distribution company based in Ashbourne, Co Meath, which ceased trading in 2009.

A creditors’ meeting in 2013 heard it had accumulated debts of €286,000. Among the creditors are the Revenue Commissioners and AIB Bank, which are owed over €100,000 between them.

Ms Doherty said: “Every single day since 2013 when the liquidation finished I have been reminded - is probably the nicest way to put it to you - on social media how much of a failure I am, of how much of a bad person I am; I am a bankrupt, I’m a martyr, I’m a liar.”

While the company owed people money "we addressed those as best as we could during the liquidation process," the Fine Gael Meath TD said.

“So I took out a loan to pay back AIB and that will probably take me the rest of my life to pay for it - and that’s cool because I’m fortunate enough to be able to do that -and some other debts were written off obviously during the process of the liquidation.”

She said she had to “live with it every single day for the last couple of years” but since she was made chief whip “the interactions went through the roof” on social media.

“Every time I opened a Facebook account, or any of my friends opened a Facebook account, there were pictures of me with balloons sticking out of my mouth saying this, or saying that. And I can’t just ignore people saying things that are not true about me, and I also can’t have an ambiguity out there for people - and there are not very many of them left I’m sure at this stage but - people who do actually like me thinking that maybe I did actually have something to hide…”

Asked who she thought was behind the attacks, she said she could identify “the usual suspects” online.

While she was not suggesting they were orchestrated by any political organisation, “I’d say they’re probably politically motivated… This is to put a chink in so far as ‘I broke the law and there’s one rule for Fine Gael people’. I didn’t break the law.”