JIM GAVIN SAID he’s “looking into” reports that he allegedly did not repay a tenant €3,300 in rent mistakenly paid.

The Irish Independent reported yesterday that Gavin and his wife rented out an apartment in Dublin’s north-inner city to a number of tenants. Between the years 2007 and 2009, a couple were living in the Gavins’ apartment.

When they moved out, it is alleged that due to a standing order in place, several months’ worth of rent were mistakenly paid to Gavin. The tenant reportedly went to lengths to track down Gavin to ask that the money be repaid, but allegedly despite a promise that it would, the money was never returned.

Asked about the claims today during RTÉ’s presidential debate on The Week in Politics, Gavin neither confirmed or denied the authenticity of the story, instead saying he would “look into it”. 

“It was a very, very stressful time for myself, my family with Jennifer. Like a lot of families, a lot of couples, we got into financial difficulty at that time. And on that particular issue, I don’t have all the information to date,” he said.

“It was over 16 years ago, a very stressful time for the family. I’m looking into it. I will deal with it with that, with urgency,” he said.

“If it happened, I’m very sorry that it happened.”

It was also reported that the apartment was not registered with the Residential Tenancies Board. Gavin said the legislation “was different at that time” and “like the majority of people we didn’t register the flat”.

The Gavins no longer own the property.

Yesterday, Sinn Féin TD Thomas Gould said in response to the allegations that they were “very serious” and called on Gavin to clarify the matter.

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“Mr Gavin says he doesn’t recall. That’s not credible and it’s not good enough,” Gould said.

“Renters across the country are being ripped off by extortionate rents that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have failed to tackle. These issues go to the heart of a housing emergency that has cheated an entire generation out of affordable housing and secure life,” he said, adding that Gavin “can’t brush this under the carpet”.

Labour’s housing spokesperson Conor Sheehan called on Gavin to publish the records he has on the matter, and for Fianna Fáil to clarify if the tenant will be repaid.

The Journal contacted Fianna Fáil yesterday on the matter, but did not receive a reply.