A Co Dublin midwife yesterday lost an attempt to lift High Court restrictions on her practice. Since the High Court granted an injunction to An Bord Altranais in August 1997 restraining Ms Ann O Ceallaigh, Temple Crescent, Blackrock, from practising, Ms O Ceallaigh has successfully applied to vary the order so she might provide some midwifery services. Earlier this month she applied to have the injunction lifted so women who want to avail of her services would not have to apply to the court.
She argued the injunction should be lifted because of the Bord's delay in proceeding with its action against her.
In a reserved judgment yesterday, the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Morris, refused to lift the injunction.
However, he fixed next Tuesday as the date for the full hearing of the case.
Ms O Ceallaigh is the subject of four complaints to the board - two made by the master of a Dublin maternity hospital and two by the matron of another hospital.
In his judgment, Mr Justice Morris said Ms O Ceallaigh sought to have the proceedings dismissed on two grounds. She submitted that the board had failed to expeditiously prosecute the proceedings to final judgment and also argued that it did not satisfy the statutory prerequisites for commencing them.
Mr Justice Morris referred to the length of time the case had taken but said he was satisfied repeated applications on the part of Ms O Ceallaigh had been the root cause of the delay. He said his finding was not a criticism of her having brought the applications.
He said he was satisfied the hearing had not been delayed by any reluctance of the board to face up to its obligation to satisfy the court of its belief that it was in the public interest to have the injunction continued, nor on any discreditable grounds.