By Clara Finn
The High Court has refused former Kerry general election candidate Michelle Keane permission to inspect sealed electoral documents connected with the November 2024 poll, while confirming that the material will be preserved during a Garda investigation.
Keane, who was unsuccessful in the Kerry constituency, alleged that on election night she saw a presiding officer at Toureencahill polling station tear ballot papers from a ballot book. She made a complaint to Gardaí that evening.
Her earlier attempt to bring an election petition had already failed because the statutory time limit had expired. She subsequently sought access to the marked electoral register and sealed election documents for the purposes of the Garda investigation.
Ms Justice Emily Egan initially made an interim order preventing destruction of the Kerry sealed documents because the six-month statutory retention period was about to expire and the status of the Garda investigation was unclear.
The position later changed. A letter from a Detective Inspector in the Cork County Division, dated June 13, stated that the electoral material was currently required by Gardaí as part of their assessment and investigation of Keane's allegations.
The Clerk of the Dáil consequently accepted that there were reasonable grounds to believe the documents might be required for a prosecution under the Electoral Act and confirmed that they would not be destroyed. The Clerk was also considering the precise scope of material requiring preservation across the election.
That meant no further preservation order was necessary.
However, Egan J refused Keane's request to personally inspect or obtain the sealed ballot material. The judge held that such access could only be ordered for an election petition or for instituting or maintaining a prosecution. Keane's petition route was closed, and she had not said that she intended to bring a prosecution herself. It was primarily for Gardaí, as the prosecuting authority, to seek any sealed documents they required.
The marked electoral register had already been made available electronically. The court also confirmed that Keane could provide that material to Gardaí if requested, without obtaining another court order.