Mr John Ellis has had his share of ups and downs since he failed in his first attempt to win a seat in the Dail in the 1977 general election, but the Fianna Fail TD and former senator has gained more prominence over the perilous state of his own finances in the past week than he has attained in national politics for over two decades.
After a term in the Seanad, he first won a Dail seat in the 1981 general election. In the 1982 general election, he topped the poll in the Sligo-Leitrim constituency with 8,552 first-preference votes, but still tasted defeat as a lack of transfers allowed his party colleague, Mr Ray MacSharry, to take the final seat. During the 1983-87 period with Fianna Fail in opposition, Mr Ellis was once again a member of the Seanad. Despite the financial difficulties, he was encountering over these years, the Co Leitrim politician won back his Dail seat in the 1987 general election. He has held his seat at all subsequent elections, topping the poll in the 1997 general election with just over 7,000 first-preference votes.
In the 1970s, Mr Ellis earned his living as a cattle dealer. In 1978, along with his brother Caillan, he set up C.J. & R. Ellis, which purchased cattle mainly on behalf of the Purcell Group.
By mid-1986, the company had moved towards meat-processing after purchasing Stanlow Trading, a firm based in Ballintra, Co Donegal, which also exported meat to the Middle East.
However, the Ballintra operation was soon in trouble. First a container of meat was burnt and destroyed by French farmers. Then further consignments were lost when contractors carried meat in containers with defective refrigeration.
The collapse of the Ellis operation hurt several Co Roscommon farmers who subsequently went to the High Court seeking payment for over u£30,000 in monies due from the sale of cattle. Mr Ellis told the High Court the venture had been "one big disaster" and that he had lost a six-figure sum.
Mr Ellis entered an agreement personally to pay off a debt to Swinford Livestock Mart in early 1987. He signed a document outlining the method of payment on headed notepaper from the Seanad.
However, the agreement was not held to and the mart issued bankruptcy proceeding against the Fianna Fail TD. In his statement yesterday, Mr Ellis said National Irish Bank also issued a bankruptcy proceeding in October, 1989, for £263,540.
Under the 1923 Electoral Act, a person can be disqualified from being a member of the Oireachtas if they were declared bankrupt. Political colleagues of Mr Ellis, including Mr Albert Reynolds and Mr Charles Haughey, intervened to prevent the Sligo-Leitrim TD facing such a possibility.
The first Fianna Fail-Progressive Democrat coalition had been formed earlier in 1989. It had 83 Dail seats and could count on the support of independent TDs such as Mr Tom Foxe from Roscommon and Independent Fianna Fail TD Mr Neil Blaney.
The loss of Mr Ellis's vote would not have put the Charles Haughey government in a precarious ail situation. Nevertheless, this was the first time Fianna Fail had been involved in a coalition, so any additional instability would have been unwelcome. In addition, from what is now known about Mr Haughey's financial affairs, he was unlikely to want to lose the influence which came with being in Government.
Mr Haughey moved to prevent the bankruptcy scenario. Last week, Mr Ellis told the Moriarty tribunal when he went to the Taoiseach's office, Mr Haughey told him that Fianna Fail would try to rescue him. ail at that time. Mr Ellis received £12,400 to defray his debts.
In March 1990, Mr Haughey again helped his party colleague out of financial trouble with £13,000 to cover debts from the failed meat venture. Mr Ellis said he believed the money was from Fianna Fail party funds and was not aware that the leader's allowance fund included State funding.
While Mr Haughey was helping the Sligo-Leitrim TD with money from the leader's allowance, the then Minister for Finance, Mr Reynolds, appears to have been giving a helping hand. A spokesman for Mr Ellis said while there was nothing in writing, Mr Reynolds "spoke informally to someone high up in NIB".
In 1994, Mr Reynolds and Mr Ellis were named in a High Court case taken by the Honorary Consul to Pakistan over the termination of his appointment. Dr Nadeem Beg said he believed that in the course of his position as honorary consul, he uncovered financial matters involving Mr Ellis, Mr Reynolds and a Mr Khursid Sohail.
Aside from his income as a public representative, Mr Ellis also receives income from farming and the rent of land in Co Leitrim. In the most recent register of interests of Oireachtas members, he lists 152 acres of land in several locations in Co Leitrim.
Mr Ellis is also a non-executive director of Indus Bank Ltd, based in Karachi. According to Mr Ellis, the bank has "no interests in Ireland" and he receives "no remuneration" for his involvement.
