A High Court judge will rule today on an application by the widow of the late TD Liam Lawlor for a stay on the Quarryvale Two module of the Mahon planning tribunal.
Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill was told yesterday that Hazel Lawlor is in "dire financial circumstances" and the tribunal is not entitled to ignore that situation. Six judgment mortgages had been registered by the tribunal against the estate of the former TD, who died in a car crash in Moscow in October 2005, Martin Giblin SC, for Ms Lawlor, said.
Those judgments were registered to meet legal costs orders granted to the tribunal against Mr Lawlor, a former Dublin West Fianna Fáil TD.
Ms Lawlor, Somerton House, Lucan, Co Dublin, is seeking a stay on the opening of the Quarryvale Two module into the rezoning of lands at Carrickmines. That module is due to start at Dublin Castle on Monday.
Ms Lawlor wants the stay to continue, pending the determination of her judicial review challenge to the tribunal in which she is seeking to stop the tribunal making findings of serious misconduct against either herself or her late husband unless supported by evidence proven beyond reasonable doubt.
If she is not granted a stay pending her judicial review, she claims irreparable damage could be done to her late husband, his estate and to herself and her family.
In final submissions yesterday, Mr Giblin said Ms Lawlor is in an "appalling situation" and needs financial support in accessing the courts in relation to her complaints against the tribunal.
The tribunal was not entitled to ignore the fact that Ms Lawlor is in dire financial circumstances and nobody could have predicted that Ms Lawlor would have ended up as she has, he added.
If a novelist had written such a story about a politician as had happened in the Lawlor case in the last 10 years, he would have been laughed at and told it was far fetched, counsel said.
Ms Lawlor was in such an unbelievable situation through no fault of her own and she was entitled to have access to the courts.
Denis McDonald SC, for the tribunal, said there are judgment mortgages against the estate of Liam Lawlor but no proceedings were in being to enforce them. The mortgages were not against Hazel Lawlor herself but were in relation to an order for costs made against Liam Lawlor in his lifetime, over court proceedings brought by him against the tribunal.
While a person cannot bring proceedings to defend the reputation of a deceased person, the tribunal had, for humanitarian reasons, allowed Ms Lawlor to defend the reputation of her late husband in its proceedings, counsel said. The granting of limited representation to her was a concession and no more than that.
Many of the points being raised by Ms Lawlor were not points Liam Lawlor sought to raise in his lifetime, counsel added.
He also rejected claims that Ms Lawlor had been subpoenaed by the tribunal after her husband's funeral. She was sent a schedule of witnesses which included her, he said.
At the close of submissions, Mr Justice O'Neill said he would endeavour to give his decision today.