An aide to President Mary McAleese today lost her High Court bid to stop her employers conducting a disciplinary investigation against her.
Bridget Conway, a protocol officer at Aras an Uachtaran, alleged her close working relationship with the President had left her frozen out of her job.
Ms Conway is a higher executive officer in the Civil Service, of Clane Road, Celbridge, Co Kildare.
She is suing the Taoiseach, Ireland, the Attorney General and Brian Spain, a personnel officer in the Department of Defence, who has been nominated to conduct the investigation.
Ms Conway claimed the investigations were triggered by a hug she shared with the President after funerals of victims of the Omagh bomb in 1998.
But in the High Court in Dublin today, Mr Justice Kevin Feeney said the civil service inquiry had followed all fair procedures to date.
Dismissing Miss Conway's application for an injunction to stop the inquiry, Mr Justice Feeney said it would not be fair for the court to intervene.
"I am of the view that this process is premature and that it would neither be correct nor appropriate for the court to intervene in injuncting the process," he said.
He told the court the disciplinary process was following well recognised, established and agreed code. And he insisted it would be wrong for the court to use up the functions of the inquiry.