McGowan concedes ‘errors’ in statement to Flood

The builder Mr Joe McGowan has conceded his statement to the Flood tribunal contains a number of "errors" in relation to money donated to former minister Mr Ray Burke.

Mr McGowan, and his business partner Mr Tom Brennan, filed a second statement earlier this year, which corrected major inaccuracies in their evidence to the tribunal in April 2000.

On that occasion, Mr Brennan and Mr McGowan said large sums of money had been raised for Mr Burke at fundraising events in the UK. However, they failed to mention offshore payments totalling £125,000, made to Mr Burke between 1982 and 1985.

Mr McGowan has already conceded his evidence of last year was in error. However, Patricia Dillon SC, for the tribunal, yesterday said the new statement and Mr McGowan's evidence of last July were also incorrect.

She pointed out Mr McGowan gave differing versions of the identity of the recipient at various times during his evidence. On some occasions, he said the money paid by him and Mr Brennan was for "Ray Burke"; at other times, he said the money went to "Ray Burke/Fianna Fail". No evidence has been found to show that Fianna Fáil got any of the money paid to Mr Burke.

Mr McGowan said he didn't know why, on three occasions, he had said the money was paid to Mr Burke only. Mr Brennan and Mr McGowan left it up to Mr Burke to decide how much money to pass on to Fianna Fáil and how much to keep for his own purposes. "He always assured us that he would deal with the money himself," the witness said.

Mr Brennan and Mr McGowan's statement said the sums of £60,000, £50,000 and £15,000 "came out of resources of companies which form part of the Brennan and McGowan group".

Ms Dillon noted that the companies that actually made these payments were offshore shelf companies and did not form part of Mr Brennan and Mr McGowan's building companies. Some of them were part-owned by auctioneer Mr John Finnegan.

Mr McGowan agreed that this statement was "an error".

The statement also said an English businessman, Mr Ernest Ottewell, who Mr McGowan has described as "an ardent supporter of Fianna Fáil", acted as a treasurer of the fundraising efforts in Britain "on behalf of Fianna Fáil".

However, when the tribunal checked with Fianna Fáil, it was told that Mr Ottewell had never carried out any national fundraising for the party.

The witness agreed this reference was also incorrect. Mr Ottewell had acted as treasurer on behalf of the fundraising effort, not Fianna Fáil.

Ms Dillon said the tribunal had contacted the late Mr Ottewell's son James in England. James Ottewell said he had written to Mr McGowan expressing his "disgust" after the builder's evidence about his father last year.

Mr McGowan denied Mr Ottewell had reacted in this way. "He was a little bit upset at the publicity, after I had presented the facts as they happened". It was "a storm in a teacup".

Ms Dillon also accused the witness of failing to disclose a business relationship with an English accountant, Mr Ernest O'Brien, when he told the tribunal last July that Mr O'Brien had evidence showing that Mr Ottewell was involved in fundraising.

The tribunal, which is closed for today's day of mourning, will resume questioning Mr McGowan on Tuesday.