A recent High Court challenge to an election conducted by Kerry County Council is to cost the local authority in excess of €200,000.
That's according to a local councillor who won his case against the local authority last month.
A subsequent re-election has since concluded in the same result.
Cllr Charlie Farrelly had argued that the successive voting method used in the North, East and West Kerry Development election process in November 2020 had concluded in an unfair result as the bigger parties voted tactically and the same method wasn’t available to him as an Independent candidate.
At the High Court, Ms Justice Niamh Hyland ruled that the election was indeed unlawful and instructed the council to repay the councillor for any costs incurred which, he says, will amount to over €200,000 in total when added to the council's own legal costs.
However, it wasn’t the use of successive voting that was the issue for the High Court but a technicality; the council referenced the wrong paragraph in the Local Government Act during the election process.
Having sought legal advice, the council executive proceeded with the same process at today's meeting, this time referencing the correct paragraph in the act.
Cllr Charlie Farrelly was nominated by Cllr Donal Grady but withdrew his candidacy saying there was too much water under the bridge.
Sinn Féin councillor Deirdre Ferris was then nominated, however successive voting saw the re-election of councillors Mikey Sheehy and Mike Kennelly to the board of the NEWKD.
They had both originally been elected in November 2020.
It led to a question being raised by Cllr Norma Moriarty in relation to where the €200,000 would come from, while she also criticised the council for using the incorrect terms in the first place, saying they achieved nothing by going to court.
CEO of Kerry County Council Moira Murrell, said that while she has reservations about some of the comments made by councillors at the meeting, she would not be commenting any further on the matter.
Cllr Charlie Farrelly, meanwhile, put it on the record that he would not be issuing any further legal threats on the issue.
