Cooper-Flynn says she can't pay legal costs

Mayo Fianna Fáil TD Beverley Cooper-Flynn today told her local

Mayo Fianna Fáil TD Beverley Cooper-Flynn today told her local

radio station that she plans to decide in the next few days on whether or not she will appeal the High Court ruling in her libel action against RTÉ and Louth farmer, James Howard.

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My dad wouldn't be able to afford to bail me out, it’s gone way beyond that
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Mayo Fianna Fáil TD Beverley Cooper-Flynn

That ruling went against Ms Cooper-Flynn, with the judge also deciding that she had to pay the costs of both sides. This has left her with a legal bill which has been estimated at over £2m.

In the interview on Northwest Radio Ms Cooper-Flynn described the bill as "daunting", and said she has not got the money to pay it.

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She also said that her father, former European Commissioner Pádraig Flynn, would not be able to pay this bill. "My dad wouldn't be able to afford to bail me out, it’s gone way beyond that".

"The trial itself cost several hundred thousand pounds, then you've an appeal on top of that and a re-trial if the appeal is successful. The cost is so vast, it’s incomprehensible."

Pádraig Collins

Pádraig Collins

Pádraig Collins a contributor to The Irish Times based in Sydney