The High Court has clarified that The Irish Times, RTÉ and other media can report comments by Catherine Murphy in the Dáil about businessman Denis O'Brien's financial affairs.
Mr Justice Donald Binchy said it was understandable that parties had come to court to seek clarification, but he had not intended, in his High Court order on May 21st, to inhibit the entitlement of media to report on Dáil utterances.
It was absolutely clear to him that the court was not entitled to prevent fair reporting of the utterances of the Dáil.
He agreed it would be desirable if his original order was varied to reflect that.
The Irish Times and RTÉ went to the High Court yesterday seeking confirmation that they could report Ms Murphy's comments.
While speeches in the Dáil are normally privileged and can be reported, the contents of Ms Murphy’s speech included information on Mr O’Brien’s financial affairs, some of which was included in Mr Justice Binchy’s order barring its publication.
Bank dealings
The interlocutory, or temporary, injunction was granted pending a full hearing of an application by Mr O’Brien seeking to prevent RTÉ from broadcasting information about his bank dealings with the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC).
At the beginning of the court sitting yesterday, Michael Cush SC, for Mr O’Brien, told the court he would be making an application to vary the order the judge had made to allow for the reporting of Ms Murphy’s remarks. He would apply to the High Court in separate proceedings seeking to establish the demarcation of the respective roles of the courts and the Oireachtas.
Dáil record
Mr Cush said on May 28th, Ms Murphy, “in conscious disregard” of the order and in breach of standing orders, put material on the Dáil record. The material was inaccurate, and received very extensive coverage. The result was that further information was put into the public domain and another part of Mr O’Brien’s case was determined.
He said in no part of Mr O’Brien’s case did he seek to restrain the utterances of the Dáil. Ms Murphy had said what she said, and it was only right that newspapers and RTÉ were entitled to report it.
Michael O'Higgins SC, for The Irish Times, said the necessity to report what was said in the Dáil was essential to newspapers, particularly to The Irish Times. The paper was contacted on Thursday, after Ms Murphy's comments, and was told publication of them would be met by enforcement.
The Irish Times had not reported Ms Murphy's comments "in broadsheet form" and had intended seeking clarification from the courts.
David Holland SC, for RTÉ, said it would be churlish not to welcome Mr O’Brien’s application, minimal though it was. The difficulty RTÉ found itself in was that what Mr Cush offered was very limited. “For all we know there may be many more utterances ... we can’t come in to court every time.”
He said when other media did publish Ms Murphy’s comments they received solicitor’s letters threatening them with proceedings. To come to court and say they never intended to restrict reporting was “rich”.
“Mr O’Brien has made a spectacular climbdown from that correspondence,” Mr Holland said.
