Fianna Fáil has scrapped a fundraising “Super Draw” next year because of a legal challenge to its use of a charity lottery licence to organise the event.
In an email to members, the party said it was making arrangements to refund the “small number of subscribers” who had already bought tickets for the event which was scheduled to take place next May.
A party spokeswoman said last night that there was no information to hand on the amount of money that will have to be refunded as a result of the decision.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin had defended the party’s use of a District Court-issued licence to carry out the draw, saying it was working “within the legal framework” to do so. Still, members have now been told not to sell any further tickets for the draw.
Courts Service records indicate that party figures were facing judicial review proceedings initiated by Chay Bowes, the businessman who came to prominence for publicising and complaining to the Garda about the leaking of confidential documents by Tánaiste Leo Varadkar in 2019.
“While the 2022 draw has been granted a licence by the relevant court, the party has been advised of a potential legal challenge by way of a potentially lengthy and costly judicial review process,” said the email to Fianna Fáil members.
The party’s trustees and honorary treasurers considered the matter, it added. “While the licence was validly granted, it would neither be reasonable nor practical to run the Super Draw against the backdrop of an ongoing legal challenge.
“It would also involve committing a very large amount in legal costs – potentially equivalent to a significant portion of the draw proceeds.”
No legal review would be completed in time for the planned draw in May, the party said, and any review may stretch well beyond that date.
“For that reason, and while we feel the decision of the relevant court to grant the licence was correct, the party trustees and treasurers have decided not to proceed with the 2022 Super Draw under the current court-granted licence,” it said.
“An alternative fundraising approach will be developed and implemented in early 2022 and our fundraising plan for the year ahead will be communicated to our members then.”
