A local Senator has said that Fianna Fáil "didn't make a good job" of handling the presidential election.
The Taoiseach, Michael Martin was heavily criticised during the party meeting in Leinster House last night.
A review of the selection process showed Jim Gavin was asked five times about a reference to a dispute with a tenant.
According to Senator Gallagher, the process to select a candidate began "much too late."
Speaking on the Joe Finnegan Show this morning, the senator said that on paper, Jim Gavin looked like a good candidate.
However, he said that most people would have taken Jim Gavin's word when he repeatedly gave the same answer about the tenant.
Senator Gallagher said it was "unfortunate" that Jim Gavin couldn't recollect that there was an issue.
He said: "If you sit somebody down four or five times, and you ask the same question, and you get the same answer, most people would take a person's word that there is nothing to see here.
"Unfortunately, with the passage of time, that particular picture changed for Jim Gavin, in that he didn't recollect that there may have been an issue.
"I understand that it was an over-payment of something in the region of €3,300, whereby Jim Gavin had a tenant in a property that he owned. Like a lot of people during the crash, he got into difficulty, and I understand Jim Gavin may have lost that property.
"But, for a period of time, the standing order that the tenant was paying the rent through continued on to Jim Gavin's account. Jim Gavin wasn't able to recollect that, and that was very, very unfortunate," Senator Gallagher added.
