A businessman who alleged Fine Gael’s direction to its councillors to block the nomination of independent presidential candidates was unconstitutional has failed in a High Court challenge.
Mr Justice Brian Cregan said on Monday that Niall Byrne’s application seeking to halt the presidential election was bound to fail and should be struck out.
Voters are to go to the polls on Friday to choose a successor to President Michael D Higgins.
Co Kildare-based Mr Byrne, representing himself, had brought the action against the Tánaiste and Fine Gael leader Simon Harris, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Ireland and the Attorney General.
RM Block
Mr Byrne had argued Mr Harris’s direction to councillors not to support prospective independent candidates for the presidency was unconstitutional as it interfered with the democratic independence of local government protected under the Constitution.
As set out in Article 12.4, to be nominated to run for the office of the president a candidate must secure the support of at least 20 members of the Oireachtas or the support of four county councils.
Mr Byrne alleged Mr Harris’s direction rendered the “entire presidential nomination process” void and Mr Byrne sought the court’s declaration stating so.
He also alleged he was the only lawfully nominated candidate in the presidential race and said he was willing to hold the office of president “until such a time as a referendum can be held to amend the nomination process”.
Mr Justice Cregan agreed with the state parties’ submission that Mr Harris’s direction to councillors is not justiciable – it cannot be resolved by the courts.
“It is clear that the action which is being challenged in this case ... is a purely political action, which is not justiciable,” the judge said.
Mr Justice Cregan also rejected as not justiciable Mr Byrne’s argument that the nomination process was unconstitutional and on account of this that the election process should be re-run.
The judge said the process for nominating candidates for the presidency was set out under Article 12.4 of the Constitution approved by the Irish people in a referendum in 1937, he said.
“The sovereignty of the people is reflected in the Irish Constitution. It is clear that the people, in a referendum, expressed their approval for an office of the president which contains a filtering mechanism to ensure that any candidate has some minimum level of political support,” the judge said.
The judge dismissed Mr Byrne’s claim he was the only lawfully elected candidate, stating he had not received the support of 20 Oireachtas members or four county councils.
The judge said Mr Byrne’s concerns about the nomination process were “not new”, citing a previous recommendation of the Oireachtas All-Party Committee on the Constitution for reform of the process.
However, he said whether or not the process should be reformed was a political matter to be decided by the Irish public and their representatives.
“If there is to be any amendment to the nomination procedure for candidates for the presidency, such an amendment to the Constitution would have to be approved by the people in a referendum,” the judge said.
“These matters are clearly within the preserve of the democratically elected members of the Oireachtas and the people; they are not matters for the court.”
