An academic who failed to be nominated to contest the presidential election has applied for permission to bring a High Court challenge to the nomination process over “unlawful blocking” of candidates.
Mr Justice Micheál P O’Higgins said, having regard to the importance of the issues, “as distinct from the grounds”, raised by Dr Cora Stack, her ex parte (one side only) application for leave for judicial review should be heard on notice to the various State respondents and Tanáiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris.
Her leave application was adjourned to October 7th, when the respondents will also be heard.
Dr Stack told the court on Wednesday the process unlawfully blocked her and other Independent candidates from contesting the election and has turned it into a “complete farce”.
RM Block
The courts, on behalf of the people, need to “get a handle” on it and make clear such “coercion” is not acceptable, she said. The people are “living in a dictatorship” and there is “an awful lot of silencing”.
Independent candidate Maria Steen lost out on contesting the election by just two votes, and another Independent candidate, Gareth Sheridan, was “silently” blocked by Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin, she said.
Under the process, aspiring candidates must secure nominations from either 20 members of the Oireachtas or from four local authorities.
Among her claims, Dr Stack contends that the Fine Gael leader unlawfully and unconstitutionally directed the party’s TDs and councillors not to nominate Independent candidates.
In his ruling adjourning the matter, the judge noted that Dr Stack, a lecturer in mathematics at the Technological University of Dublin, had in her application sought an interim order staying the entire electoral process.
He was not satisfied the balance of justice would allow for the granting of such an order, he said.
To ensure fairness to her, and the fair administration of justice, and noting the low threshold of arguability for granting leave, he would direct that her leave application be heard on notice.
He was not saying whether the threshold had been met but, having regard to the importance of the issues raised, as distinct from the grounds, he was adjourning the application.
Dr Stack, he noted, had told the court she wanted to be a candidate, but was restricted to perhaps five minutes at council meetings and curtailed before she finished her presentation. She was unable to attend some council meetings on September 22nd last because of simultaneous scheduling of those, and could only attend two. She was locked out of a meeting of Meath County Council, which she argued was arbitrary and unjust.
Among her claims, she contended the current nomination process is null and void, and also alleged breach of the Protected Disclosures Act.
The application concerned important issues touching on important electoral process relating to the office of president of Ireland, the judge said.
When he said he was concerned the arguments sought to be raised were not fully developed, Dr Stack interrupted his ruling to say she had just one day to prepare her application.
Concluding his ruling, the judge directed the leave application should be heard on notice.
Dr Stack had applied at about 11.30am to have the judge deal with the matter urgently, by noon, the deadline for nominations.
Several other matters were already listed on Wednesday before the judge, including an urgent application by a father seeking the return from Poland of his toddler daughter, whom he has not seen since January.
Dr Stack’s application was unlisted and the judge said he would hear it after the listed matters, which also had some urgency. It was heard at 3.30pm.
