MR Sean Haughey, Fianna Fail TD for Dublin North Central, told the tribunal that he received £1,000 from Dunnes Stores in 1987 and in 1989. He had thought the 1987 donation had come from Mrs Margaret Heffernan. He did not ask directly for it he said, but someone, "maybe a brother, sister, friend or supporter", did so on his behalf.
The money was paid into a special account for election expenses.
Asked if Mr Ben Dunne had made any representations to him, he said: "No." If he had, they would have been dealt with on the same merit as anyone else's. "I'm only a very small player in the field, and the vast majority of support is from friends and supporters."
Asked by Mr Denis McCullough SC, for the tribunal, if there might have been a period when it was felt he might have had some influence, he asked: Some influence with whom?"
Mr McCullough: "Someone more highly placed than you."
"It certainly wasn't the reality, anyway," replied Mr Haughey.
Mr Adrian Hardiman SC, for Mrs Margaret Heffernan, asked him if he was contradicting her evidence that she had never given a donation to a political party or individual, and he said he was not.