Left-wing TDs want to ask the president to call a referendum, if the government fails to do so. (File pic)

President Michael D Higgins will be urged to take the unprecedented step of calling a referendum if the Irish Government rules against a vote on the new European treaty.

Amid claims Taoiseach Enda Kenny and his EU counterparts crafted the pact to avoid the electorate, 16 left-wing TDs vowed to lobby the former Labour man if a public vote is ruled out.

Under the never-before-used Article 27 of the constitution the president can call a referendum with enough support from the Dáil and the Seanad.

Independent TD Thomas Pringle, who is spearheading the challenge, said they will turn to the head of state if Attorney General Máire Whelan rules there is no legal requirement for a referendum.

“Article 27 says a third of the Dáil and the majority of the Seanad can petition the president not to sign an Act into law until a referendum has been held by the people,” said Mr Pringle.

The group, comprising 16 Independent and United Left Alliance TDs, will need 55 signatures from Dail members to carry the petition.

“If you look at the number of Independents, Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil, we make up 52 TDs,” he said.

“But the constitutional requirement would be for 55 TDs to sign this petition, so we will be hoping for some Fine Gael or Labour TDs who, in the interest of democracy, will support our calls for a referendum.”

Mr Pringle wrote to all members of the Oireachtas today calling for their support and signatures for the Article 27 petition.

If agreed, the president will be required to consider the treaty with the help of the Council of State, which includes former presidents Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese, as well as the Taoiseach and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore. But the final decision comes down to him alone.

According to the constitution, Mr Higgins will have to determine whether the treaty is of such national importance that it requires the will of the people.

Opposition leaders have reiterated their calls for a public vote on the fiscal compact, which will bring strict budgetary rules and penalise member states that breach them.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin said pushing the treaty through without a referendum would damage the people’s confidence in any future European Union initiatives.

“For the sake of rushing through this treaty, we could damage the possibility of ever again winning support for an EU initiative,” said Mr Martin.

“Given that this treaty commits us to a new major EU treaty in the next few years, this is an urgent concern.”

Sinn Féin accused the Taoiseach of hiding behind the Attorney General.

Donegal North East TD Pádraig Mac Lochlainn said the treaty was “a suicide pact” and the public should be given a voice.

“It’s clear that the people want to have their say on this matter,” he said.

A Red C Survey for the Sunday Business Post last week revealed that 72 per cent of the Irish public are in favour of a referendum.

Sinn Féin vice-president Mary Lou McDonald earlier challenged Mr Kenny over claims from a top European official that he allowed the compact to be drafted in such a way that the Attorney General would find no legal grounds to hold a public vote.

Mr Kenny said he had no idea about the allegation.

“If it is the case and that speculative report were true, does that not bely what we have been saying all the time, that Ireland had no say in the matter?” Mr Kenny said.

Meanwhile, Independent TD Mick Wallace shot down claims earlier this week by Transport Minister Leo Varadkar that the electorate would not understand the intricacies of the treaty well enough to make an informed decision in a referendum.

“The notion that the people are not clued in to what’s happening is not true,” said Mr Wallace.

“I’ve been amazed by the level of interest and the level of knowledge people have all over the country about this present crisis.”

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett said it was insulting and undemocratic to imply that members of the public are not smart enough to have their say.

He also accused Mr Kenny of allowing Europe to strangle and crucify Ireland.

“If you won’t listen to the people then the people should come to the streets,” he added.

Independent TD Shane Ross criticised the Taoiseach’s claims that the treaty will stimulate growth.

“He says this is an austerity and stimulus programme,” said Mr Ross.

“If anybody can tell me how these two can be reconciled, I think they should be sent to heaven immediately.”

Enda Kenny arrives for an EU summit in Brussels. (Pic: AP Photo/Frank Augstein)

Some 25 EU nations have agreed upon a fiscal deal to bolster the euro by toughening the bloc’s budgetary rules.

The UK and the Czech Republic are the only two members that will not sign up to the German-inspired pact.

Under the compact, signatories are committed to bringing into legislation what European Council President Herman Van Rompuy has referred to as a “debt brake” or “golden rule”.

New voting rules and an automatic correction mechanism will enforce compliance more effectively. All member states except the UK and Czech Republic are to sign the deal at a meeting in March.

The treaty will come into effect once 12 members have ratified it.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has insisted the Government is not afraid to hold a referendum on the deal.

Mr Kenny made his comments as he and other European leaders have gathered for the summit.

“The Government has absolutely no fear of a referendum,” said Mr Kenny.

Mr Kenny said when finalised, the text would go before Ireland’s Attorney General Máire Whelan, who will determine whether a referendum will be required.

“When the text is finalised I will ask the Attorney General to present the Government with the Attorney General’s response as to whether the agreed text as finalised by the politicians is in compliance with our constitution,” he said.

“If it is in compliance, then there is no need for a referendum.”

Mr Kenny’s Fine Gael colleague Leo Varadkar sparked controversy over the weekend when he said he had concerns for a possible referendum.

The Transport Minister said he was not a fan of the system – which gives the public a say on significant political issues – saying he believed it to be undemocratic.

“I don’t think referendums are very democratic,” Mr Varadkar told RTÉ.

“By and large, referendum campaigns are never about what they are supposed to be about.”

He said the main issues behind referendums get clouded by domestic political point scoring.

A new Red C Survey for the Sunday Business Post showed that 72 per cent of the population is in favour of holding a referendum.

Some 40 per cent said they would vote in favour of the fiscal compact, 36 per cent said they would vote no and the rest were unsure.

With Staff Writer

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has blamed easy credit for the Irish crash. (File pic)

Ireland’s economic crisis was caused by people’s mad borrowing, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has told the Davos global gathering.

In a discussion on ways out of the country’s worst recession on record, Mr Kenny told the summit in the Swiss Alps that easy credit spawned greed.

“What happened in our country was that people simply went mad borrowing,” Mr Kenny said.

“The extent of personal credit, personal wealth created on credit was done between people and banks – a system that spawned greed to a point where it just went out of control completely with a spectacular crash.

“The country borrowed over €60 billion at excessive rates and the IMF eventually came in with the Troika.”

Opposition parties said the comments, made at the World Economic Forum, are at odds with the Taoiseach’s assessment in a pre-budget address to the nation last December when he said: “Let me say this to you all: You are not responsible for the crisis.”

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, Sinn Féin TD, said it was an outrageous analysis and accused the Taoiseach of blaming Irish people for a crash caused by aggressive lenders and greedy banks.

“He gave an address to the Irish nation in December, telling us it was not our fault, but to say this today was an absolute contradiction,” said Mr Mac Lochlainn.

“This analysis that people in Ireland went drunk with credit, were reckless and they have to now be cleansed by a decade of austerity to clean them of their sins is very worrying.

“People were aggressively cajoled, every time you opened your newspaper or put on your TV.

“What you had was aggressive lending by the core banks that toyed with low interest rates. It was like crack cocaine.” Mr Mac Lochlainn claimed Mr Kenny was feeding into a Franco-German propaganda of justifying austerity in Ireland.

A spokesperson for the United Left Alliance said: “Ordinary householders borrowed because of the excessive price of houses.

“The ULA puts the blame squarely at the foot of developers, bankers and speculators who conspired to create massive and for them, highly profiteering, and there was a bubble in the market.”

During the discussion on the catastrophic boom and bust, the Taoiseach said that people in Ireland have since refocused on what they can do to help recovery.

“People have refocused on their values, on what it is they want to contribute to the wellbeing of the country,” he said.

Mr Kenny said it was important to interact with the public and explain measures being taken under the International Monetary Fund-European bailout deal.

“But people become frustrated if they don’t see results and they want to see where the light shines,” he warned.

Mr Kenny the Taoiseach was taking part in a plenary session with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski.

Meanwhile, the Taoiseach insisted Ireland would not be rushed into selling off state assets to raise €2-3 billion to ease the debt crisis and create a fund for jobs.

He went on to describe a €3.5 billion bond switch, which was this week secured for the first time since 2010, as “a small sign of confidence” that Ireland was returning to the international markets.

“That’s only a small step in what’s a very long journey for us,” he said.

This was Ireland’s most significant move since bond auctions were suspended more than a year ago and the IMF, European Central Bank and the European Union – known as the Troika – stepped in to oversee a €85 billion bailout.

MP Craig Thomson visited Ireland in April, as part of a 42-day trip around Europe. (Pic: Still from ABC's 7.30)

Embattled ALP MP Craig Thomson found himself accused of plagiarism last week after the Sydney Morning Herald revealed that a report into a 42-day, $24,000 trip to Europe contained content from Wikipedia and others’ speeches. Ireland was one of the destinations visited. Who did he meet while there?

A copy of Mr Thomson’s Dublin meeting schedule shows that he met Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) in April.

Mr Thomson met the late Brian Lenihan, by then Fianna Fáil’s finance spokesman.

He also met Minister of State at the Department of Finance Brian Hayes.

Mr Hayes told the Irish Echo that the meeting took place in his office and was also attended by Department of Finance Official and the Australian Ambassador to Ireland.

Mr Hayes said he and Mr Thomson had a “good discussion about the euro zone crisis”.

ICTU General Secretary David Begg provided Mr Thomson with “a short, informal briefing and update on the economic situation in Ireland” according to the union’s spokesperson. The 45-minute briefing took place at the union’s headquarter’s, Congress House.

Craig Thomson also lists a meeting with representatives of Macquaire Bank’s Irish operation – Macquarie Capital Advisors  – and the country’s National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA).

NTMA manages assets and liabilities on behalf of the Irish government.

However, a source familiar with Macquarie’s Dublin operation said there were no NTMA representatives present at the meeting.

He said it was “an informal discussion on the Australian, Irish and broader European economies, attended by Australian Government and Macquarie representatives.”

North Dublin TD Tommy Broughan said he could not support a continuation of the bank guarantee.

A rebel Labour backbencher has become the third Government TD kicked out of the coalition after he refused to support the bank guarantee and called on the party to return to opposition.

Just days before Budget 2012 and the potential for already vulnerable groups to face deeper hardship, Tommy Broughan refused to support the controversial deposit protection scheme.

“What happened today is related to what’s going to happen on Monday and Tuesday. It is cause and effect and today is part of the cause for the reason that we are going to take four billion euro out of the economy,” he said.

“I couldn’t stand over it. I believe in the interest of the people. That’s always been my strategy and I didn’t feel I could support that scheme.”

The North Dublin TD joins colleague Willie Penrose, who rebelled over the closure of Columb Barracks in Mullingar, and Denis Naughten, who was expelled from Fine Gael for refusing to support cutbacks in emergency services at Roscommon hospital.

Mr Broughan suggested Labour would be better off in opposition.

“I argued very strongly that we shouldn’t enter the Government. That we should lead the opposition with our nearly 40 seats,” he said.

“We should fiercely oppose Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and prepare to take power down the line and have a Labour Government that was put there to represent working people to the Nth degree.”

Emmet Stagg, Labour chief whip, confirmed the 64-year-old had been expelled.

“His actions are regarded as a grievous breach of party discipline and he has been expelled from the Parliamentary Labour Party with immediate effect,” Mr Stagg said.

The dispute is the second show of dissent in Labour ranks in the last few weeks.

Mr Broughan refused to support the renewal of the Eligible Liabilities Guarantee scheme, which is due to expire at the end of December. Labour voted against it in opposition.

It was originally introduced in 2008 for the State to protect deposits held in banks, including Allied Irish, Bank of Ireland, Anglo Irish and Irish Nationwide.

Opponents of the scheme have warned they are concerned about the Government supporting the banks on the taxpayers’ expense.

Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty said the guarantee is a blank cheque for banks, including Anglo, and said the extension is a major U-turn for the coalition.

“Given the risk to the taxpayer involved in the bank guarantee this must be the single biggest and most expensive political U-turn in Dáil history,” said Mr Doherty.

He added: “The scale of this U-turn is truly breathtaking, given the depth of opposition to the bank guarantee, particularly from the Labour Party.

“If there is to be one single decision which represents the Labour Party’s capitulation to the failed policies of Fianna Fáil it will surely be this. So much for not writing blank cheques for failed banks.”

Despite Mr Broughan’s revolt, there is no danger of the coalition Government losing its bid to extend the guarantee by six months as it holds a large majority and also has Fianna Fáil support for the move.

“The banks have not changed, the culture has not changed, we haven’t got support for small business, we haven’t got support for households,” he said.

“Even though we own the agencies that are in remit of the coverage of this scheme, that hasn’t changed.”

The Labour veteran also warned that Europe should be taking more responsibility for the massive banking debts that have crippled the Irish economy.

“If we’re going to stay with the euro we need to have a fundamental commitment from the European Central Bank that those are their liabilities. It’s their currency. It shouldn’t be imposed on one of the smallest populations of the eurozone or Europe,” he said.

Mr Byrne has urged the ALP to adopt a position on same-sex marriage.

An Irish Labour TD has urged the Australian Labor Party to legislate for same-sex marriage.

Eric Byrne, a sitting TD for Dublin South Central, said that recent civil partnership legislation in Ireland ‘has strengthened the cause of marriage equality’ there.

Mr Byrne urged the ALP to implement a same-sex marriage policy in a piece written for independent news website New Matilda on November 25.

“I know that a debate is taking place in Australia on the same issue and I note that our brothers and sisters in the Australian Labor Party are torn as to what to do. I would urge them to look into their hearts,” writes Byrne.

Mr Byrne says that the Australian party and its Irish counterpart share common values of ‘freedom, community, democracy and equality’.

“We can only ensure that gay and lesbian citizens are truly free, truly a valued part of our communities and truly able to play a full democratic role in our societies when we say that henceforth all will be afforded equality of treatment and in the case of marriage, equality can only be achieved when all couples, opposite sex or same sex can stand their families and friends and enter a fully equal marriage,” he writes.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard said last month that Labor MPs would be allowed to introduce their own legislation for same-sex marriage.

However, she added that a conscience vote would also be allowed, meaning individual MPs could vote on any measures in line with their own views rather than one agreed upon by the party.

Penrose has quit over plans to shut army barracks. (Pic: Flickr/Labour Party)

Coalition partner Labour has been shaken by the high-profile resignation of Cabinet minister Willie Penrose over austerity measures.

Allegations that party MEP Nessa Childers has been threatened with expulsion for refusing to toe the leadership line on a controversial civil servant appointment has also sparked tensions within its ranks.

Mr Penrose stood down as housing minister and resigned from the Labour parliamentary party after Cabinet colleagues rubber-stamped the closure of an Army base in his constituency.

Columb Barracks in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, along with barracks at Clonmel, Castlebar and Cavan, will shut as part of an overhaul of Defence Forces operations which Taoiseach Enda Kenny said will save the taxpayer €5 million.

Some 515 military personnel and 25 civilian workers will be transferred to other existing barracks.

Rejecting claims it would have the same impact as a small factory closing down in the towns, Mr Kenny said no jobs would be lost while proceeds from the sale of the barracks will be used to upgrade Defence Forces equipment.

However, Mr Penrose and Opposition politicians say the closures make no financial sense and will only hurt the towns involved as well as the soldiers stationed there and their families.

“I fully appreciate that difficult decisions have to be made by the Government if we are to get out of the economic mess in which we have found ourselves, but I was not prepared to stand over a decision that was not backed up by the facts and figures,” said Mr Penrose.

His resignation is the first senior defection to strike the nine-month-old Fine Gael/Labour coalition.

“While I will no longer hold the Labour whip, I will continue to serve the people of Longford Westmeath as an active and vocal public representative,” he said.

The barracks closure has also led to grassroots rebellion among Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore’s rank and file.

Michael Dollard, Labour leader on Westmeath County Council, said he would resign from the party if the Government ignored the views of Mr Penrose.

Separately, MEP Ms Childers said she has been threatened with being kicked out of the party if she continues to oppose the nomination of Department of Finance secretary general Kevin Cardiff to the European Court of Auditors.

She claimed that during a phone call from a senior politician, she was also warned that she could end up in court if she did not drop her objections.

“I received a phone call, or made a phone call and I was told that first of all, did I realise that I could end up in court because I could be sued for Mr Cardiff’s loss of income,” she said.

“Earlier in the day, the press officer told me I wasn’t allowed to talk about it any longer.

“A second phone call happened which I didn’t take but it was on my voicemail saying that if I proceeded, a recommendation for my expulsion from my party would take place.”

Mr Cardiff played a major role in the EU/IMF bailout negotiations in the aftermath of the collapse of Ireland’s economy.

The top civil servant was recently quizzed over his department’s double counting blunder which left the national accounts out €3.6 billion.

Ms Childers, MEP for Ireland East, said the error, combined with Mr Cardiff’s economic background, led her to believe he would be unfit to take up the €180,000 European job.

Despite the upheaval, Mr Penrose insisted Labour members were not being prevented from speaking their minds.

“We’re not clones, we have articulate, different views in the context of the issues that arise and that’s the very essence of a good vibrant party,” he said, after announcing his resignation.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said he fully understood why Mr Penrose quit.

“He’s a very good colleague, somebody who has worked hard for the Labour Party both nationally and in his constituency,” he said.

“I understand his decision … but the Government has to make decisions which are in the best interests of the country.”

Mr Gilmore also denied Ms Childers was being silenced and said he respected the right of MEPs to have their own point of view.

President Michael D Higgins waves to cheering school children after his inauguration ceremony as Ireland's ninth head of state at Dublin Castle. (Pic: Niall Carson/PA)

Ireland’s ninth President Michael D Higgins has urged Irish people at home and across the world to help build a real and inclusive republic.

After being sworn in during a solemn ceremony at Dublin Castle, the President attacked the egotism and materialism that had wounded the country in recent years.

The 70-year-old poet, politician and philosopher said people were being valued in terms of their wealth rather than their fundamental dignity.

“That was our loss, the source in part, of our present difficulties,” he said.

“Now it is time to turn to an older wisdom that, while respecting material comfort and security as a basic right of all, also recognises that many of the most valuable things in life cannot be measured.”

The veteran Labour member, who resigned from the party on being elected head of state, arrived at the upper yard of Dublin Castle for his inauguration shortly before midday along with his wife Sabina Higgins.

They had stayed at the State residence Farmleigh the night before and were taken under a military escort of honour in a Presidential Mercedes — past Áras an Uachtaráin — to the ceremony.

The blustery, wet conditions, which hurled one of the sodden red carpets across the courtyard moments after the couple were greeted by Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore, failed to dampen the sense of occasion.

The first lady was dressed in a knee-length matching coat and dress, in ceremonial purple, designed by Louise Kennedy, while President Higgins wore a dark suit and silver, Paisley-patterned tie.

Just before his entrance into the grand St Patrick’s Hall, Mr Higgins asked for a few moments to reflect in a room in Dublin Castle where the socialist republican 1916 Rising leader James Connolly was held before being executed.

:: 21 gun salute

Past presidents Mary McAleese and Mary Robinson, both dressed in red, former Taoiseach Brian Cowen, the entire Government cabinet, judicial chiefs, Northern Ireland’s First and Deputy First Ministers Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness and all the other presidential election candidates were among the guests and dignitaries.

The inauguration began with an inter-faith service, including prayers from Christian, Jewish and Islamic representatives, as well as a Humanist reflection.

Prompted by Chief Justice Susan Denham, Mr Higgins completed the oath of office, the Army No 1 band sounded a salute and the Presidential Standard — St Patrick’s blue with a silver-stringed gold harp — was hoisted over the castle and Áras an Uachtaráin, his home for the next seven years.

Across the River Liffey, a 21-gun salute rang out from Collins Barracks as the new head of state was handed the Presidential seal of office to warm applause from the packed hall.

Addressing guests, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said Mr Higgins would be a powerful healer for Ireland with a mandate of more than one million votes and the warm wishes of 70 million members of the Irish diaspora.

“Michael D Higgins is indeed a noble man of quiet virtue who will bring that nobility of heart and mind and spirit to the office of the President to all his endeavours in the name of Ireland and the Irish people,” he said.

“His authenticity as poet, philosopher, patriot and politician. As a democrat, republican, husband, father will resonate across this country and around the world.

“A real republican. At the head of his greatly desired ‘real republic’.”

The newly sworn in President said his term in office would be one of creativity and ideas and he would work towards transforming Irish society until it was profoundly ethical and inclusive.

Again evoking rebel leader James Connolly, Mr Higgins said he believed that Ireland was a work in progress, a country still to be fully imagined and invented, with an exhilarating future.

“The demands and rewards of building a real and inclusive Republic in its fullest sense remains as a challenge for us all, but it is one we should embrace together,” he said.

The ceremony drew to a close as President Higgins inspected a Defences Forces’ Guard of Honour in the upper courtyard of Dublin Castle made up of 107 officers.

Around 350 schoolchildren of all ages invited from all four provinces, invited by Mr Higgins, cheered as four Air Corps Pilatus aircraft flew low overhead in a diamond-shaped formation.

The Army No 1 band played several tunes including Slattery’s Mounted Foot, Galway Bay, Mise Éire and Finnegan’s Wake.

After taking time to greet well-wishers, the President was driven to Áras an Uachtaráin in Phoenix Park under military escort, where he hosted a private lunch for 90 guests ahead of an evening state reception at Dublin Castle.

Mr O'Gorman: "I am Irish so I can laugh off the worst of things and keep going."

West Australian Premier Colin Barnett has accused an opposition MP of being ‘thin-skinned’, after he objected to being referred to as ‘a leprechaun’ in State Parliament on Tuesday.

Opposition MP Tony O’Gorman — who was born in Birmingham, England, but raised in Co Clare — described the Liberal leader’s comment towards him as “derogatory”.

Mr Barnett made the comments about the Labor Member for Joondalup in State Parliament on November 8 during a debate about gas, water and electricity price hikes in the state.

During the debate Mr O’Gorman criticised the Liberals leaders for his failure to focus on the issues in question, to which Mr Barnett responded by describing Mr O’Gorman as “the Leprechaun from Joondalup”.

“Do you support the carbon tax? Come on, leprechaun! The leprechaun from Joondalup, do you support it?”

Mr Barnett later withdrew his remarks and apologised.

The parliamentary transcript containing the exchange can be found here.

Mr O’Gorman, whose Irish parents raised him in Shannon, told the Irish Echo that the comments made by the Premier during the debate were inappropriate and demeaning.

“I have been a politician for 11 years so I have been called all sorts, but my issue with this is that the Premier had to resort to try and throw people off the track in the middle of a serious debate to try and take me off my train of thought because I had facts and figures on price hikes,” he said.

“The other thing is that a leprechaun is known for protecting a pot of gold, which is very demeaning when you consider that people out in the suburbs are trying to pay their bills when electricity and water prices have soared.

“It is a derogatory term and not appropriate for a state leader to use, but I am Irish so I can laugh off the worst of things and keep going. My main focus is to keep pushing the Premier until my point gets through,” Mr O’Gorman added.

Responding to criticism that he had been disrespectful towards Mr O’Gorman’s Irish heritage, Mr Barnett said he himself was part Irish.

He did not see how his comments were offensive.

Mr Barnett also told reporters that Mr O’ Gorman needed to “lighten up” and not be so thin-skinned.

“Yes I referred to the member for Joondalup as a leprechaun. I apologised in parliament but I think the member for Joondalup must be the only Irishman in the world that doesn’t have a sense of humour,” Mr Barnett said.

“Leprechauns are folk figures in Irish culture. They are lovable little fellows and characters and if the Member for Joondalup was offended by that, he is a little bit thin-skinned,” the Premier added.

It is not the first time this year an Australian politician has found himself in hot water over remarks pertaining to Irish people.

In June, Tony Abbott, a Federal counterpart of Mr Barnett’s, said that the Gillard Government “was a bit like the Irishman who lost 10 pounds betting on the Grand National and then lost 20 pounds on the action replay”. When the Embassy of Ireland in Canberra complained about the remark, Mr Abbott contacted the Embassy to express “regret”.

Additional reporting by Luke O’Neill

Sean Gallagher had questions to answer over his political background and business deals. (Niall Carson/PA)

Presidential front-runner Sean Gallagher has admitted asking a convicted criminal and fuel smuggler for €5,000 in a fund-raising drive for Fianna Fáil.

After being hit by an onslaught of attacks over his political past, Sinn Féin warned they would ask the donor to personally explain the circumstances of the invite.

Mr Gallagher revealed the damaging approach after facing down a string of broadsides during a live RTÉ television debate.

The former Fianna Fáil member claimed he was not aware of the donor’s past three years ago when he asked for the cash in return for a meet and greet with then taoiseach Brian Cowen.

But he insisted: “I’ve no recollection of getting a cheque from this guy.

“I don’t know the man very well.”

Mr Gallagher exposed the donor’s past when challenged directly over the payment by Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness on the television debate.

He had already faced a barrage of criticism from the other six presidential candidates over his political background and business deals, including a bookkeeping error over a lodged €89,000 cheque.

Mr Gallagher hit back claiming the donor had leased a constituency office to Sinn Féin on behalf of party president Gerry Adams ahead of the general election last February.

The final live debates involving the seven candidates for the Aras were marked by a string of broadsides intended to assassinate the former Fianna Fáil man’s character.

Mr McGuinness and Senator David Norris led the charge in exchanges focusing on Mr Gallagher’s fund-raising and business deals.

“There was something very rotten at the heart of the last administration. As far as I’m concerned Sean was part of that,” the Sinn Féin candidate said.

Further questions were also raised about financial dealings in Mr Gallagher’s companies, including the accounting mistake and also a company payment to himself.

Mr Gallagher insisted he was tax compliant.

Earlier, Labour leader and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said Mr Gallagher had a responsibility to open up about his ties to Fianna Fáil.

His party’s candidate Michael D Higgins launched another thinly veiled attack refusing to openly criticise before adding that Mr Gallagher’s explanation for the bookkeeping error was “rather complicated”.

Candidates first rounded on Mr Gallagher — well ahead in several opinion polls — during a lunchtime debate hosted by Google and Newstalk radio.

Later, on RTÉ’s Frontline direct attacks on the former Smarthomes director set the tone for candidates attempting to regain ground lost in the polls.

Gay Mitchell of Fine Gael, who’s campaign has been dogged by low support in the polls, and Independent Mary Davis, former head of Special Olympics in Ireland, called for more transparency.

Mr McGuinness said it was an absolute disgrace that Mr Gallagher was fund raising for Fianna Fáil as recently as two or three years ago.

He added: “I have to say I think you are in deep, deep trouble.”

Mr Gallagher denied suggestions that his role in organising for Fianna Fáil was “brown envelope”.

“I’ve never been involved in that culture,” he insisted.

Senator Norris hit out at the poll topper for comparing himself to sub-contractors and tradesmen involved in the property boom.

“I thought Sean had a bit of a neck earlier this morning where he identified with plasterers and plumbers,” the Trinity senator said.

“I just find it a little hard to take. I think what it says about the Irish people is that they have not learnt very much.”

As the row over political backgrounds deepened, islanders off Donegal cast their ballots although turnout was low. People registered to vote on islands off Mayo go to the polls tomorrow, while off Galway polling stations open on Wednesday before islanders off Cork vote with the rest of the country on Thursday.

All candidates other than Mr Gallagher and Mr Higgins have lost support since the last opinion poll.

Mr McGuinness appears to have cemented third place, while support for Senator Norris and Mr Mitchell has continued to fall.

Ms Davis has dropped into joint last place with Dana Rosemary Scallon.

Voters go to the polls on Thursday.