State to pay costs of legal challenge to constituency revision

The State has agreed to pay the substantial legal costs of the High Court challenge by two politicians and a Dublin West constituent to the manner in which the electoral constituencies have been revised.

There would also be no appeal by any of the parties against Mr Justice Frank Clarke's judgment which was considered by all as "the final word" on the matter, David Barniville SC, for the State, told the judge yesterday.

Last month the judge dismissed arguments that the Oireachtas had breached the Constitution in how the constituencies were revised. However, he also stressed the need for the Oireachtas to move speedily to address "impermissible variations" existing in several constituencies relating to the number of TDs per capita of population.

The challenge was brought by Dublin North Central Independent TD Finian McGrath and former Kildare North TD Catherine Murphy to the constitutionality of the Electoral Amendment Act, which defines constituency boundaries.

They sought a declaration that the Minister for Local Government and the Attorney General had failed in their constitutional obligation to ensure that, in revising the constituencies, due regard was paid to changes in the population distribution as set out in the census.

A related action was brought by Feargal Molloy, a Dublin West constituent, who sought to have an extra seat added to the constituency. The case was mentioned before the judge yesterday to address the issue of costs. Mr Barniville said that, having read the very comprehensive judgment, all the sides had agreed it represented the "last word" on the issues raised and there would be no appeal.

In those unique and exceptional circumstances, the State had agreed to pay the plaintiffs' costs in both actions, he said.

Mr Justice Clarke said the actions were of public importance and the State had adopted an appropriate attitude.

He said the only order to be made was that both plaintiffs' claims were to be dismissed and their costs paid by the defendants.

In his judgment, the judge had stressed that his dismissal of the case must be seen in the context of the "urgent" nature of the obligation on the Oireachtas to speedily move to remedy the "significant, disproportionate and impermissible" variations in several constituencies between the numbers to be elected to the Dáil and the population as found in the last census.

The ratio was more than 10 per cent beyond the average in a number of constituencies, he noted. He further held that it was not possible to establish an "acceptable" level of deviation and the Oireachtas had an urgent obligation to reduce any disparity to an absolute minimum.

He also suggested action should be initiated from the time of publication of preliminary census figures rather than waiting for final figures.