Danger for Irish PM as presidential candidate quits after unpaid debt allegation

Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin endorsed Jim Gavin as Fianna Fáil's presidential candidate in August

A week is a long time in politics.

But for the now-withdrawn presidential candidate Jim Gavin, all it took was a number of hours to unravel his campaign.

Fianna Fáil is in chaos and storm clouds are gathering over the future of Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Micheál Martin's leadership of the party.

It all began on Saturday morning when the Irish Independent published an article detailing Gavin's property dealings.

The story told how Gavin and his wife Jennifer bought an apartment during the Celtic Tiger, which they later ended up renting out.

A couple who rented the apartment for a period of time moved out but they said an issue with a bank account meant they inadvertently kept paying Gavin rent over a number of months - totalling €3,300.

The story alleged the tenant made a number of attempts to contact Gavin and ask for the money to be returned, including going to his parents' house.

Jim Gavin ruled himself out of the Irish presidential race on Sunday night

A statement from Gavin's campaign provided to the newspaper said Gavin and his wife Jennifer reviewed all records and said "he does not have any recollection or records of any such dispute".

Some 12 hours later, after the story was published, the first poll of the presidential election dropped.

The Sunday Independent Ireland Thinks poll placed Gavin third in the three-horse race.

Catherine Connolly came in at 32%; Heather Humphreys on 23% and Gavin on 15%.

But tensions were already bubbling over the renter story and some politicians within Fianna Fáil had begun to grow uneasy.

The decision came shortly after a televised presidential debate on Irish broadcaster RTÉ

On Sunday afternoon, the three candidates took part in the second debate of the campaign on RTÉ's The Week in Politics.

Gavin was questioned on the tenant story and whether or not he had repaid the money.

"If it happened, I'm very sorry that it happened," he said.

"I'm looking into it and I will deal with it with urgency."

When he was taking questions from journalists after the debate was over in the RTÉ Studios reception, Gavin seemed slightly defeated.

His answers did not provide any extra details from his earlier comments.

About 12 hours later came a bombshell statement from the campaign and taoiseach and Fianna Fáil party leader Micheál Martin, announcing Gavin was withdrawing from the race.

As well as Gavin, veteran MEP Billy Kelleher was also seeking Fianna Fáil's backing to run in the election.

But Martin opted to back Gavin and so did the party, with 41 votes backing Gavin and 29 backing Kelleher.

Rebel Fianna Fáil TDs (members of parliament) had privately dubbed the presidential election and Gavin's performance as a "referendum" on Martin's leadership.

Micheál Martin has led the Fianna Fáil party for 14 years and served as taoiseach twice

Gavin's campaign had not been going smoothly. Media appearances did not come naturally to him, neither did political campaigns.

In press conferences and debates, it was clear it was all new for Gavin.

When compared to his opponents, both of whom are well used to the cut and thrust of political debate, he faltered.

Fianna Fáil is now in turmoil. Party TDs are aghast the issue with the renter was not discovered during the vetting process.

They are not only furious with Martin's backing of Gavin instead of a party stalwart, they also take issue with deputy leader Jack Chambers, Fianna Fáil's director of elections.

Chambers, who serves in cabinet as the minister of public expenditure, is already under pressure in signing off on Tuesday's Budget.

It is a tighter Budget than previous years, with no cost of living payments and few tax cuts, and he has already spent weeks pushing back against the demands coming from other Fianna Fáil cabinet ministers.

Gavin's name will appear on the presidential ballot regardless.

But dark clouds now loom over the leadership of the party as Martin faces his toughest challenge yet in his 14 years as leader.