Fianna Fáil faces court battles over election delays

The Government is tonight facing two more potentially damaging court battles over delayed by-elections.

As the row over four empty Dáil seats deepened, Thursday November 25 was set for the long-awaited Donegal South-West poll, but Taoiseach Brian Cowen has refused to budge on other votes.

Fine Gael have vowed to bring the dispute to a head by asking the courts to coerce the Government into facing a likely voter backlash in Waterford, Dublin South and Donegal North-East.

And if Fianna Fail are defeated in the Donegal South-West stronghold the loss could severely derail the December 7 Budget.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has refused to accept the Government’s plan for a single by-election forcing the Dáil to be adjourned.

“It is an attempt to use court time to have a longer stay in government which is doomed,” Mr Kenny said.

Eamon Gilmore, Labour leader, called for all by-elections to be held together.

“What this is about is a Government that is clapped out, that no longer has the confidence of the people, that the people want out of office, trying to stay in office for as long as possible and they know that if they hold all the by-elections together their majority begins to wither away,” Mr Gilmore said.

Caoimhghin O Caolain, Sinn Fein, said: “We can now dispense with the Government claim that they could not hold the by-election because it would have distracted them from the economy.

“That’s nonsense. Is democracy and giving the people their rightful say a distraction? That’s an insult to the people.”

The two Fine Gael lawsuits attempt to build on Sinn Fein’s High Court victory yesterday. Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns supported Senator Pearse Doherty’s claim that the writ for the by-election should have been moved some time in the last 17 months.

The judge stopped short of ordering a date be set but ruled the delay was unreasonable, unconstitutional and a repeat could lead to more draconian action.

Dublin South has been a TD short for nine months since journalist George Lee quit and Waterford eight months after former minister Martin Cullen resigned on health grounds.

The Government is appealing to the Supreme Court prompting the Senator and Donegal South-West candidate to brand the action a disgrace.

“This move is about keeping the present government in power,” Mr Doherty said.

In the Waterford and Dublin South Fine Gael said it would bring two High Court lawsuits claiming the Government has failed to remedy the continuing constitutional wrong arising out of the delayed by-elections.

Government Chief Whip John Curran criticised the Fine Gael lawsuits. He has said the Government is committed to moving writs for the two seats in the spring.