The Green Party have expressed disappointment at today’s High Court decision not to overturn RTE’s to exclusion from the Party Leaders’ Debate.
Party trustee and candidate in Dublin Mid-West, Tom Kivlehan, sought a declaration from the courts that the criteria being applied by RTÉ were too restrictive.
Speaking following the ruling, Green Party leader Eamon Ryan said: “Tom pressed the case because he believed it was in the interests of our democracy to have a more open and inclusive debate.
“We thank both legal teams for arguing the case in a respectful manner and appreciated the concluding comments of Judge Baker where she acknowledged that:
'RTÉ accepts that the editorial criteria that it has adopted for this election are not perfect, and it is not suggested that they would be suitable in another electoral context.' and that: 'fundamental and core democratic ideals are in play in the present case.'
“We are disappointed that despite such reservations she deemed that the criteria being used were sufficiently reasonable for the courts not to interfere in the matter.
“We will now redouble our efforts in the remaining days of the campaign to get our message heard. We are calling on all other parties and independents to join us in a neutral debating space where we can outline how each party sees Ireland addresses the climate change challenge that we face. We will be asking other media and NGO outlets in the coming days if they are interested in facilitating such a discussion.”
Green Party Deputy Leader, Cllr. Catherine Martin, said: “This case was not so much about the Green Party as it was about democracy and a modern and inclusive debate. The Green Party are running 40 candidates in this election, and have been the fifth biggest party by first preference vote in the last three elections. While disappointed with today’s outcome, we will engage with voters in every way possible between now and polling day.”
ENDS