Exactly what was said in 2011: Gallagher explains the cheque
PAT KENNY: ‘Seán, hang on a second. The issue of the rather large cheque that rested in your account until it was pointed out to you by your accountants that it should have been in your company account rather than your in personal account…’
SEÁN GALLAGHER: ‘It wasn’t a personal account… Let me explain…’
KENNY: ‘Hang on a second, I just want to know, how does someone mislay a cheque for 89 Grand?’ (Audience claps)
GLENNA LYNCH: ‘Seán, what customer pays somebody a cheque for €89,000? [Actual figure was €83,000] Who could that customer have been? This is for motivational speaking. That’s an extraordinary fee and I think most people would be really interested to know where did this cheque come from? It’s an incredible size.’
GALLAGHER: ‘Firstly it is not related to speaking, it is related to business interests I have. Can I explain that the cheque, in fact, was made out to the wrong account and unfortunately, the book-keeper’s secretary, who works for me, put it into the account which was written on the cheque.
‘When the accountant’s firm, who does my accounts, came across it and spotted it in the wrong account, what they did was alert me to the fact and within less than four weeks the matter was resolved and I am absolutely 100% happy and satisfied from my accountancy firm that no breach took place.’
LYNCH: ‘Seán, do you understand that what you just said makes absolutely no sense to anybody who is involved in any kind of a business? Was the money income from that company or was it not? If it was, it was correctly put in your accounts as a loan to Seán Gallagher; a loan that was almost 70% of the profits of that company for that year? You do understand that, don’t you?’
GALLAGHER: ‘No, let me explain…’
LYNCH: ‘Please do.’
GALLAGHER: ‘You’re misrepresenting me. I have more than one company and therefore the company name on the cheque was incorrect, and the cheque was lodged to the name that was on the cheque. ‘Therefore by the time that the accountants in doing reconciliation of the accounts noticed it, they then allocated that as a loan. I didn’t take the money out of the account, the money was in a different account. The book-keeper rectified that with the accountant and it was placed back in the right account and no breach took place.’
LYNCH: ‘So, on which account did you actually pay VAT or tax or anything else? In which account was it real, Seán?’
GALLAGHER: ‘I can tell you now…’
LYNCH: ‘The name of the account would be very helpful… or the company that is involved.’
GALLAGHER: ‘I can tell you now 100% that I am absolutely 100% tax compliant. There is a tax clearance certificate on my website, absolutely cast no aspersions on myself.’