Paschal Donohoe's poster pal's companies got €8.7m in…

Paschal Donohoe's poster pal's companies got €8.7m in Government payments over six years

Companies whose director paid people to hang posters for Paschal Donohoe received Government payments worth €8.7million, the Irish Mirror can reveal.

The Public Expenditure Minister has confirmed businessman Michael Stone paid six individuals to put up and take down posters of the Fine Gael candidate during the 2016 General Election campaign.

The €1,057 cost of this was not declared after the election and is the subject of a complaint by the Standards in Public Office Commission.

It has now emerged two companies of which Mr Stone was a director received at least 141 payments over six years – including for work in Leinster House.

Minister Donohoe insisted last night he had no role in the awarding of such contracts. Company directorship website VisionNet shows as well as Designer Group, Mr Stone is a director of nine other companies.

VisionNet also shows Mr Stone was a director of Sensori Facilities Management Ltd between August 2014 and January 2022.

The company was a joint venture between Designer Group and construction services company John Sisk & Son launched in 2019. Sisk acquired the entire company in 2022.

Logs published by the Office of Public Works of payments of €20,000 or over show the 141 payments were made to either Designer Group or Sensori between 2016 and 2021.

Minister for Public Expenditure, Paschal Donohoe (Collins)

The highest number were made in 2019 when 45, with a value of €3.5million, were paid out.

There is also a webpage on Sensori’s website detailing the work they carried out in Leinster House.

It says: “Sensori FM were appointed the electrical works contractor for the 3,500sqm, 270-year-old historical building.” And it highlights the “project delivery scope of work”, including electricity supply, lighting installation and refurbishment and installation of chandeliers.

Former Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath told the Dail in February last year two payments were given to Sensori subsidies for Covid-19-related consultancy contracts.

One payment worth €1,038 was made to Sensori Facilities Management Ltd for site reports to determine the requirements for information signage and hand sanitising units.

Lenmac Services, trading as Sensori FM, were also paid €3,375 for the same service. VisionNet shows Mr Stone was a director of Lenmac Mechanical Services Ltd until January 2022.

The OPW’s record of payments over €20,000 from 2015 on are published on Gov.ie. It shows Designer Group Engineering received two payments in quarter three, and nine in quarter four of 2015. The total payments came to €1.4million.

The OPW is under the remit of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Mr Donohoe was Minister in that department from 2016 to 2020.

The Irish Mirror asked his spokeswoman if he had recommended these firms to provide services or had any involvement in organising the award of the contracts. On both counts she replied: “He did not.”

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald noted in the Dail yesterday Mr Stone had been appointed to the board of the Land Development Agency.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar responded it is “wrong to cast aspersions on Michael Stone”.