The Fitzwilton group has lost a High Court attempt to stop the Mahon tribunal holding a public hearing into the payment in 1989 by one of its companies of £30,000 (€38,000) to former minister Ray Burke for Fianna Fáil funds.
However, an injunction restraining the tribunal from starting the public hearings will remain in place until the new year to allow the group to consider an appeal to the Supreme Court.
Fitzwilton had claimed the tribunal could not proceed to a public hearing because this would be in breach of its terms of reference as amended in December 2004.
It contended that those terms required the tribunal to stipulate in writing what matters would go to public hearing by May 1st, 2005, and it claimed the Fitzwilton payment was not so stipulated.
In his reserved judgment yesterday, Mr Justice Kevin Feeney said the court was satisfied that a tribunal document of April 28th, 2005, was clearly a written record of the decision taken by the members of the tribunal on that date listing the additional matters which should proceed to public hearing.
Mr Justice Feeney said no precise wording was required and the April 2005 document records the decision in writing.
Declining the application for judicial review, Mr Justice Feeney said he was satisfied the tribunal has complied with the requirements in its terms of reference. Considering the matters at issue, the judge said the court had to have regard to the special nature of a body such as the tribunal of inquiry.
During the hearing, the court was told the Fitzwilton group had, through a subsidiary company, made a payment to Mr Burke in 1989 in advance of that year's general election.
Mr Burke had officially solicited the payment, the company said. Fitzwilton said that the money was intended as a political donation for Fianna Fáil but it was learned in 1998 that Mr Burke had retained £20,000 of the sum. Fitzwilton said it had first learned, from a letter of July 15th, 2005, that the tribunal was to hold a public hearing into the payment. This came as "a bombshell" to the group.