Legal proceedings against Flynn struck out

Legal proceedings involving independent TD Beverly Flynn were struck out at the High Court today bringing to an end the long running legal battle after her failed libel action against RTÉ.

Miss Justice Elizabeth Dunne struck out constitutional and bankruptcy proceedings involving Ms Flynn. The move came after she finally paid a €1.225m legal bill with RTÉ in August.

Mr Douglas Clarke BL, for the State, told Miss Justice Dune that the constitutional proceedings could be struck out and an order for costs made in favour of the State. The judge made the order.

Ms Flynn had brought proceedings challenging the constitutionality of the laws under which an undischarged bankrupt cannot be a member of the Dáil.

Mr Tony Leggit,solicitor with Eugene F Collins for RTÉ, also applied for bankruptcy proceedings against Ms Flynn to be struck out with no order for costs and the judge made that order also.

Beverly Flynn was expelled from Fianna Fail in 2004 after a failed libel action against RTÉ. She lost a 28-day High Court action against RTÉ, its chief news correspondent Charlie Bird and farmer James Howard in relation to claims that she assisted clients of National Irish Bank, for

which she had worked, to evade tax.

The settlement of €1.225m, which was less than half of the actual €2.8m, was accepted by a bankruptcy court in early July.

RTÉ had brought the bankruptcy proceedings against Ms Flynn over her failure to pay any of the legal costs arising from her unsuccessful libel action against the station and its chief news correspondent Charlie Bird.

RTE alleges Ms Flynn has failed to pay any of the total bill of €2,848,088 which, it contended, was due arising from the libel action of 2001. Ms Flynn, then a Fianna Fáil TD but now an Independent Deputy, lost her 28-day High Court action against RTÉ, Mr Bird and farmer James Howard and also failed in her appeal to the Supreme Court against that decision. That appeal was dismissed in 2004.

Both courts awarded costs against Ms Flynn which costs were certified in September 2005 by the High Court Taxing Master.

Ms Flynn, a former financial adviser with National Irish Bank, had alleged she was libelled in six RTÉ broadcasts in 1998 which reported that, as an employee of NIB, she had encouraged or assisted a number of persons in tax evasion.