Mayo Fianna Fáil ’in limbo’

Mayo Fianna Fáil ‘in limbo’

Michael Duffy and Áine Ryan

THE honorary secretary of the Castlebar-based Johnny Jordan Cumann, Eamon Joyce, has this week stated that the comments made by An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in relation to Beverley Flynn rejoining Fianna Fáil have left the party ‘in a state of limbo’ at grassroots level in the county.
Mr Joyce said the comments from the Taoiseach on RTÉ radio’s News at One were ‘totally unexpected’ and were in stark contrast to the sentiments expressed by headquarters before the recent General Election.
“We didn’t expect it all and we really fail to see where the Taoiseach is coming from on this one. As far as we can see, there is nothing but uncertainty surrounding Deputy Flynn at present. Her matters with RTÉ remain outstanding and now we have her constitutional challenge pending. God knows how long that is going to take,” said Mr Joyce, who said the hardworking members of the party now once again had to adopt a ‘wait-and-see approach’.
“What we really should be at is getting our house in order ahead of the local elections which are not that far away. In all honesty, it could still be two or three years before all the matters involving Deputy Flynn are resolved.”
Mr Ahern also said at the weekend that the process of Ms Flynn going back into Fianna Fáil would have to be resolved with her ‘local organisation’, but Mr Joyce said that clarification would have to be sought from party headquarters in relation to this process and also the process of re-admitting former members of Fianna Fáil who clearly canvassed for Ms Flynn before the General Election.
“After the Taoiseach’s comments, there are now people who feel they have legitimate claims to rejoin the party proper so we will have to seek clarification on this issue.”
Mr Joyce also refused to admit that allowing Deputy Flynn back into Fianna Fáil was the only way forward for the party in the county, as a Fianna Fáil TD would then be based in both Castlebar and Ballina.
“That all sounds great in a perfect world but unfortunately that’s not the case at present. We will just have to cross every bridge when we come to it and deal with the situations as they present themselves to us,” added Mr Joyce.
Mayo’s only elected Fianna Fáil deputy, Dara Calleary, also refused to herald the Taoiseach’s comments as solving all the problems faced by the party in the county. The newly-elected TD also felt that the comments were ‘a bit premature’.
 “Once all the outstanding issues are resolved and there has been widespread consultation with the local organisation, it should be considered. I think the feeling on the ground is mixed and there will be some opposition to her being brought back in. The consultation needs to take in all of this,” said Deputy Calleary, stressing the importance of the local organisation in this process.
He also acknowledged that the dissolution of the Micheál Ó Moráin cumann in 2005 and the local political fall-out from that now seemed pointless.
In June 2005, Fianna Fáil National Secretary, Seán Dorgan, and Minister Noel Dempsey were involved in a number of meetings spearheading party re-organisation in the constituency. At the time the official party-line was that the Micheál Ó Móráin cumann was disbanded due to its continued support for Beverley Flynn, at that stage an Independent TD, having been expelled in 2004 after her failed Supreme Court appeal over the RTE libel case.  
In an RTÉ interview last Friday, Bertie Ahern also said that he was very conscious that Ms Flynn was ‘a person of considerable ability’ and ‘we have a job to do in Mayo and in the west, we have to build up our strength as a party in the future’.
The Taoiseach went on to say: “I can’t give a commitment but I am in support of her in the party and I am also very conscious she is a person of considerable ability. I do believe that she had potential into the future to be a person that has capabilities of being an officer holder.”
Sources close to Ms Flynn feel that the Taoiseach’s comments mean he will consider her for a junior ministerial post when the current cabinet is re-shuffled two-and-a-half years into its term.

Constitutional challenge adjourned until July

Meanwhile, lawyers for RTÉ have described Deputy Flynn’s constitutional challenge as being a ‘litigious frolic in her own interest’.
The comments were made on Monday afternoon after lawyers for Ms Flynn outlined the grounds on which she wants to postpone bankruptcy proceedings being taken against her by RTÉ.
Her senior counsel, Gerard Hogan, said Ms Flynn was challenging the constitutionality of part of the 2002 Electoral Act, which disqualifies someone judged to be bankrupt from being a member of the Dáil.
He said she had raised major constitutional issues of public importance, and they were seeking an urgent, early hearing of the constitutional proceedings. The matter has been adjourned for two weeks.
Before the case was adjourned, Mr Hogan told Judge Elizabeth Dunne that Ms Flynn was served with a bankruptcy petition on June 2 after RTÉ failed to recover almost €3m in costs incurred by her in a failed libel action against the station.
He said she had already offered almost €600,000 to RTÉ, but that offer was rejected because RTÉ did not believe she had done all she could to discharge her debt.
The Electoral Act of 2002 provides that if a member of the Dáil is declared bankrupt and fails to discharge that bankruptcy within six months, they will be disqualified from membership of the Dáil.
Mr Hogan said the wishes of the electorate must be respected by the Oireachtas. He said there was inconsistency in the way members were disqualified.
Senior counsel for RTÉ, Cian Ferriter, said costs against Beverley Flynn had been assessed in September 2005 at more than €2m and interest was accruing at a rate of €500 a day.
And he said Ms Flynn had not paid a ‘red cent’ of that money. He said RTÉ had obligations to its licence payers and had to take this action for bankruptcy.
He said RTÉ had grave concerns about Ms Flynn’s efforts to postpone or adjourn the bankruptcy proceedings. He said she was embarking on litigation in her own interest to block the consequence she most feared, with complete disregard for RTÉ and its licence payers.
He said the constitutional proceedings were nakedly self-interested and would actively prejudice RTÉ. He added that RTÉ had had to bear the very costly consequences of her previous frolic and was now being asked to sit back while she embarks on another one.