Cork TD Thomas Gould says he is innocent of allegations made against him

Olivia Kelleher

Sinn Féin TD for Cork North Central Thomas Gould has maintained that he is innocent of all wrongdoing while confirming that he is the politician who was questioned by gardaí about an alleged case of fraud.

The Irish Times revealed a member of the Oireachtas had been arrested and questioned about an alleged 150,000 business fraud almost a decade ago.

A file is expected to be prepared for the DPP to the allegation.

In a statement issued to the Irish Examiner, Mr Gould rejected a complaint which he said his former employer had made against him.

“I am confident that my position will be vindicated having met with the investigating gardaí where I made a detailed statement.

I will be meeting with my legal team to discuss all avenues now open.

“When this matter was brought to my attention I was shocked and angry.

“I am entirely innocent and reject the complaint which my former employer has made against me," Mr Gould added.

“Despite my ongoing treatment for bowel cancer I proactively requested that my interview with gardaí happen quickly rather than when my treatment concluded as I consider this to be a serious attack on my reputation.

"Yesterday I attended by arrangement with the gardaí for interview.

“The complaint made against me relates to my employment as a logistics manager before I was elected to the Dáil in 2020. I worked for this company for 16 years.

“I was a hard-working employee who was promoted to a senior management level.

“When the company was sold the owner asked me to stay on for a period to help with the transition and I was happy to facilitate him.

“I reject the complaint entirely and I will be meeting with my legal team to discuss all avenues now open.

“I am prevented from making any further comment while the gardaí continue with their work.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald also confirmed that Deputy Gould was interviewed after a complaint had been made to the gardaí.

“He was interviewed by gardaí in Cork yesterday and made a detailed statement to them.

“We understand that a number of other people have been questioned as part of Garda inquiries. This includes party councillor Kenneth Collins, who worked for the company and was questioned by gardaí in January.

“They both emphatically deny the allegations.

“It is now for the Gardaí to continue their investigation into the complaint.”

Mr Gould is a former Sinn Féin councillor in Cork City. He was first elected to the Dáil in 2020 and retained his seat in the last general election.

His most recent interview was with the Opinion Line on Cork’s 96FM last month. He told presenter PJ Coogan that he was diagnosed with bowel cancer during the general election campaign.

However, he said that never considered stepping back from politics.

He underwent an emergency operation in September of last year and maintained that he had to “get on with life” following his sudden and shocking diagnosis.

“I'm really proud to be a TD for Cork North Central. And for me being able to go to work, being able to come in here and do interviews, being in the Dail this week speaking.

"What was I going to do, go to bed and feel sorry for myself? I actually love my job.”

Mr Gould is still undergoing chemotherapy. He stresses that that the reality of life is that many cancer patients “go to school, go to college every day, raise families” in the midst of chemo, radium or a different type of cancer treatment.

In hindsight, Mr Gould realises that he was suffering from exhaustion for about eighteen months before he was diagnosed.

“I couldn't figure out what it was. Outside of that, I had very few other issues. I went for tests and they thought I was anaemic and then they put me on iron tablets thinking my iron counts were low.

"I went for different tests over different months. And then what happened was I went for a test in September and I went out to see the consultant to get the results. I never brought my wife with me or my sisters. I had no inclination that was what I was facing.

"So I met Dr Shane Killeen on a Friday and he says, ‘You’re coming in next Wednesday to (be) operated on.’ I was shocked.

"He said if he had a theatre he would have operated on the Friday. The closest one he could get was on the Wednesday.

"It was an emergency operation and I had to go because I had a tumour in my bowel and it needed to be got out. It was so sudden. I hadn’t thought I was that sick.”

"Mr Gould had the surgery the following Wednesday in the Mercy Hospital in Cork city.

“I had the tumour removed and it went well.They got the tumour, they got all the cancer around it. They sent parts off then to be analysed.

"A week or so later, I got back the results to say that they had all the cancer in the bowel, but there seemed to be some in the lymph nodes. And then I had to go Derek Power who is a a consultant in cancer.

"And Derek said Shane got all the cancer, but to be doubly sure and be precautionary I should start chemo when I got over over the effects of the operation.”

"The father of two said that he was enormously grateful for the excellent care provided to him by hospital staff since he got unwell.

"He also feels forever in the debt of Sinn Fein colleagues who assisted him enormously during the general election campaign.

“I have unbelievable people around me, family, friends and people in Sinn Féin. And people came out then who heard I was sick.

"People canvassed, leafleted —the amount of work that people put in.

"I really appreciate it because when things go wrong for you and things are down, people come out.

"But I was lucky, I made a really good recovery after the operation. For some people, having a tumour removed, it could take months or years to get over the surgery.

"In my case, I made a good recovery, but I was lucky. I would go out for the start of a canvas for maybe half an hour and meet some people and then go home.

"Or I might come out after the canvas and they would say maybe three or four people wanted to speak to me and I would drive around to their houses.”

Mr Gould, who retained his seat in the election, has only missed the Dail on two occasions since he got sick.

“Well, I suppose I've been lucky so far. I've only missed the Dáil twice. But like, I'm getting chemo next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday next week. So I won't travel to Dublin next week.

"But the week after then I will. And it's kind of two-week blocks, I get it. This week I was in Dublin on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.

"I do a clinic every Monday then. So even during the weeks I have chemo, I have a full clinic. And then Thursday and Friday I meet with groups around Cork.

"The reason I did the interview today is because I know some people know, but I know others don't. And I wanted to be upfront with people.

"I'm still working hard, I'm still doing my clinics, and I still feel that I have a lot to offer for years to come.”