Independent Co Mayo TD Beverley Flynn yesterday initiated a constitutional challenge that could delay the bankruptcy proceedings that are being taken against her by RTÉ. Colm Keenaand Miriam Donohoereport.
The move coincided with comments by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in which he indicated Ms Flynn was likely to be offered a junior ministerial post in the lifetime of the current Government.
High Court proceedings to have Ms Flynn declared a bankrupt are scheduled to begin on Monday.
The procedure to have someone declared a bankrupt usually takes approximately three months, but can take much longer in certain circumstances, according to legal sources.
If Ms Flynn is declared a bankrupt under the terms of the Electoral Act 1992, she would automatically lose her Dáil seat if, after six months, she still remained a bankrupt.
Yesterday Gerard Hogan SC, for Ms Flynn, initiated proceedings to have the relevant sections of the Electoral Act declared unconstitutional. Mr Justice Thomas Smyth directed that the case go before the Bankruptcy Court on Monday when the application by RTÉ to have Ms Flynn adjudicated a bankrupt is due to be heard.
Whether the constitutional challenge will prevent the bankruptcy proceedings going ahead, will not be clear until the court sits. Also, it is not clear whether the constitutional challenge can go ahead given that Ms Flynn is not a bankrupt.
Ms Flynn owes more than €2.84 million in legal fees arising out of failed libel proceedings she took against RTÉ. The jury in the case found that Ms Flynn had, when an employee of National Irish Bank, advised or encouraged certain persons to evade tax. Ms Flynn does not have sufficient assets to cover the debt. An offer by Ms Flynn to give 20 per cent of her salary to RTÉ would not pay for the accumulating interest on the debt owed, according to a source with knowledge of the case.
Ms Flynn, who was a Fianna Fáil TD until she was expelled from the parliamentary party three years ago after losing her libel action against RTÉ, is one of the Independent TDs supporting the new Government. Asked if she had a legitimate expectation to be an office holder in the lifetime of the current government, the Taoiseach replied: "I think that's a fair expectation."