Let Bev’ deliver

Let Bev’ deliver

Áine Ryan

IF returned to Fianna Fáil, Beverley Flynn’s possible promotion, controversially mooted by the Taoiseach the day before her recent High Court case, should be contingent on her potential to deliver key priorities for County Mayo in the next two years. That’s the opinion of a leading Castlebar-based party activist who claims that last week’s events – the RTÉ settlement of €1.25 million, the dropping of her constitutional challenge against the bankruptcy laws and the ensuing media storm – had significantly damaged her rehabilitation chances.
“Let her secure the BMW under-spend of €350 million that she’s always on about for the roads, especially to Achill and Belmullet – they’re atrocious. And let her get Breascheck and then, after that, be considered for promotion,” he said. 
He also told The Mayo News that there is a 50-50 split in the organisation in the county over the so-called Flynnasty. Observing that, while a recent Connaught Telegraph poll had revealed that ten out of the 12 Fianna Fáil councillors would welcome her conditional re-instatement, he suggested it was significant that only one of them, Cllr Jimmy Maloney, had attended her recent victory party in the Welcome Inn Hotel. “What does that say?” he asked.
Declining to be identified, the longtime party stalwart promised: “I will go on the record in September, we all will, after we [the Comhairle Ceanntair] fight our fights behind closed doors.
“But, remember, it is the National Executive that still has to take her back first [before the local organisation]. They have to propose her and second her. And remember there’s 60-odd TDs around the country, backbenchers who’ll all want to be junior ministers come half-term,” he said.
“[Her re-entry] depends on the Tribunals and what comes out of them. They all sat around the table with Haughey – Bertie and Pee. Who knows what they have on each other,” he continued, saying it was time both the Flynns treated the local organisation with respect and courtesy, and for them to show some humility.
He observed ‘they need to remember that all of the trouble [in the Mayo organisation] came from one outfit’. “It’s going on for ten years now, between Daddy [in the tribunals] and her legal suit. They brought on their own downfall, nobody else,” the source said.  
However, he did concede that Beverley was able and that while it may be a long road yet, reconciliation was possible.
“We are ready to mend fences but this time it will be on everybody’s terms, not just the Flynns calling the shots,” he concluded.
Meanwhile, it was reported at the weekend it will now be the proceedings of Deputy Flynn’s house in Manor Village that will underpin the massive loan she must repay by August 17. The house, which is her only significant asset, despite her personal relationship with multi-millionaire builder, Mr Tony Gaughan, is valued between €350,000 and x400,000 and still has an outstanding debt of around €50,000, according to The Sunday Independent.
Ironically, according to a number of sources,  the same asset was apparently deemed inadequate by the County Sheriff’s Office after it returned the High Court writ it had received on behalf of RTÉ, with a judgement stating there were not enough assets to clear the debt.
While County Sheriff, Mr Fintan Murphy, told The Mayo News he was precluded from commenting on individual cases and thus declined to comment specifically on the Flynn case, he conceded there was a well-established precedent for cases being settled at about half their original amount.
“My job is as a warrant enforcement agency and not a debt-collecting agency. Normally the creditor would go to a solicitor first. If this fails and there’s no hope of other measures being used, the County Sheriff is contacted.” explained Fintan Murphy.
According to Mr Murphy, his office will then write to the debtor and make a rigorous assessment of the debtor’s assets. Ultimately, if it is judged that he has enough assets to cover the debt, or an acceptable portion of it, he is informed that he has four days to discharge the debt. The sheriff also has the power to seize assets, ie send his bailiffs in to seize a house or car, for example.
However, if it is judged that the debtor does not have enough assets to clear the debt, the writ will be returned and other options, such as bankruptcy proceedings may be considered by the creditor, in Ms Flynn’s case that was RTÉ.