Presidential election candidate Martin McGuinness has released his bank statement to prove he only takes minimum wages – but Fine Gael’s Gay Mitchell doesn’t believe him.

McGuinness instructed his bank to publish his statements after intense speculation over his take of the near $150,000 a year salary as Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister.

The Sinn Fein hopeful has always maintained that he takes just over $2,000 a month from his wage packet with the rest going to the party coffers.

Mitchell has disputed this claim but McGuinness’s bank accounts appear to verify it after his bank manager went public with the figures.

The Bank of Ireland in Derry released full accounts for McGuinness and his wife after calls from Mitchell for a full revelation of the earnings of all candidates.

____________________

Read More:

Martin McGuinness says Irish public don’t care about his IRA past

Irish Government warns Martin McGuinness election will damage US investment

Martin McGuinness ‘ashamed’ of the IRA Enniskillen bombings

____________________

Sean Hegarty, commercial manager at the bank’s Strand Road branch in the City, stated that Martin and Bernadette McGuinness receive a regular monthly payment of just over $2,000 from a Sinn Fein account.

“Other than very occasional expense refunds, this appears to be the only funds received into this account on a regular basis,” said Hegarty.

Personal debit details on the account were blanked out on the statement but did reveal that the McGuinness family has shopped at supermarkets Asda, Musgraves, Tesco and clothing stores TK Maxx and Fosters in recent months.

Fine Gael’s Presidential candidate Mitchell has refused to believe the figures however.

“I don’t believe much of what Sinn Féin say. They make it up, just to get over, to get over the latest hump, they will say what needs to be said,” claimed Mitchell.