RACE FOR THE ARAS: FF & JIM

FORMER presidential candidate Jim Gavin is set to repay his former tenant Niall Donald the €3,300 he has owed him for 16 years, his lawyer confirmed.

- BY RUAIRI SCOTT BYRNE and THOMAS LAWRANCE

FORMER presidential candidate Jim Gavin is set to repay his former tenant Niall Donald the €3,300 he has owed him for 16 years, his lawyer confirmed.

Solicitor Eamonn Shannon made the vow after Mr Donald, a journalist and deputy editor of the Sunday World, and co-host of the Crime World podcast, identified himself as the man owed the money by Mr Gavin.

Mr Donald spoke on the podcast yesterday morning – three days after the Fianna Fail candidate's dramatic withdrawal from the race for the Aras after reports emerged that he owed a former tenant €3,300. Mr Shannon told RTE he had contacted Mr Donald about getting him the money, once two issues had been clarified.

He said: “We await hearing back from Mr Donald and once those two issues are clarified, we can then proceed to close out on the matter”

Mr Shannon made his statement hours after Mr Donald confirmed he was the former tenant.

It's understood that the issues Mr Gavin's solicitor wanted clarified were whether the second tenant in the property at the time is owed any of the money and whether Mr Donald ever received any compensation from banks after the apartment was repossessed. The Irish Mirror understands the response to both queries was no.

SORRY

Mr Donald also said he felt sorry for Mr Gavin, a former Air Corps officer and six-time All-Ireland winner with the Dublin footballers.

Mr Donald said yesterday that the former Aras hopeful didn’t respond to emails and calls at the time of the overpayment, and the money owed to him “just never arrived”.