The High Court challenge to the result of the 2002 general election result by disability campaigner Ms Kathy Sinnott started in Dublin yesterday.
The High Court was told there was prima facie evidence that a figure returned on behalf of the Minister for Health, Mr Micheál Martin, in the statutory declaration of his 2002 electoral expenses, was wrong.
The figure in question was "either a misstatement or something deliberately designed to mislead the [Public Offices\] Commission", Mr John Rogers SC said. He was moving a petition challenging the result of the general election in Cork South Central in May 2002. Mr Martin topped the poll.
The petition has been brought by Ms Sinnott, who was defeated for the last seat by six votes, and by Mr Mark Menihane, an elector in Cork South Central, of Ballinrea, Carrigaline, Co Cork.
They want a declaration that the Cork South Central result is void and a fresh election to be called. They claim Mr Martin did not declare all of his electoral expenses when making the required statutory declaration of those expenses and that if he had, he would have exceeded the limit set under the Electoral Act 1997.
Mr Martin has denied the claims.
Yesterday, Mr Rogers said it was the practice of candidates to assign a certain amount of their spending allocation to their political party.
In five-seat constituencies, the spending limit was €38,092. Several Fianna Fáil candidates in other five-seater constituencies had assigned half of the limit, €19,046, to Fianna Fáil to be spent on the national election campaign.
In Mr Martin's case, according to documents discovered for the petition hearing, he had signed an undertaking for the party in February 2002 stating he would assign 50 per cent of his allocation to the party, €19,046.
However, there was prima facie evidence that when Mr Martin's election expenses were returned to the Public Offices Commission, the amount stated to have been assigned to the party was €15,546. This was inconsistent with Mr Martin holding a very safe seat and was "'simply not credible".
The petitioners also claim that Mr Martin failed to declare expenses out of public funds, including expenses arising from his having a constituency unit office in the Department of Health, and expenses and outgoings related to that office. They further claim a failure to include expenditure from public funds arising from salaries and remuneration to staff at his constituency unit office, special advisers and a press officer at the Minister's Department.
The failure to include such expenditure was contrary to the principles of the Electoral Acts regarding citizens' rights to be treated equally, the recognition of the importance of fairness in the democratic process and the guarantee of the democratic nature of elections, Mr Rogers said.
The hearing before Mr Justice Kelly is expected to last several days. The judge will initially have to determine whether Mr Martin did spend more than the statutory limit of €38,092 in a five-seater constituency. If the judge finds there was overspending, he will then have to decide whether that had a material effect on the outcome of the election.
Mr Martin topped the poll in the Cork South Central constituency, and his surplus helped the election of two other Fianna Fáil candidates, Mr Batt O'Keeffe and Mr John Dennehy. Also elected were Mr Dan Boyle of the Green Party and Mr Simon Coveney of Fine Gael. After a marathon count and recount, Ms Sinnott lost the battle for the last seat to Mr Dennehy by six votes.
In an affidavit, Ms Sinnott's electoral agent, Mr Pádraig Ó Feinneadha, said he had examined election expenses statements of several Fianna Fáil ministers which included items listed as expenditure which did not appear in Mr Martin's statement.
Mr Ó Feinneadha said he believed Mr Martin's election expenses statement "has not included all the expenditure which should have been included" and, if it had, Mr Martin would have "significantly exceeded expenditure limitations".
The hearing continues today.
