THE JUDGE who is the sole member of the Dunnes tribunal warned the media against publishing leaked information gleaned from statements to the tribunal when it opened yesterday.
He also warned people against leaking information to the media. Those who did could be guilty of an offence, he said, as the tribunal had the same status as the High Court.
Mr Justice McCracken said two matters had come to his attention.
The first arose when Mr Michael Lowry made representations to the tribunal last Friday saying the Sunday Business Post and the Sunday Independent were inquiring about his relations with a company called Badgeworth.
He stressed that all statements were made on the understanding that they were confidential unless and until they were given to the tribunal.
Judge McCracken said the tribunal had written to the editors of the two newspapers and they were co-operative.
He understood Journalists had a job to do and they had a job to follow up information they received.
The tribunal's concern was that background information given to it had come into the possession of journalists.
This information could only have come from Mr Ben Dunne's statement and one of the journalists said she had a copy of that statement.
Mr Dunne gave a lengthy statement, and other people gave statements to the tribunal. The tribunal had always treated them as a matter of confidence.
It was a principle of natural justice that if evidence should be given concerning a person then that person should have an opportunity to respond. Excerpts from statements relating to specific individuals were shown to them. The excerpts relating to Badgeworth were given to a few people, including Mr Lowry and the bank concerned in the Isle of Man.
"It is a strange coincidence that this information came only last Friday and came, to two rival Sunday newspapers, he said.
There were two reasons why documents given to the tribunal should remain confidential, he said. People would be discouraged from co-operating with the tribunal and comment on information given to it could prejudice the work of the tribunal.
He drew attention to the Act under which the tribunal had been set up, and said this warned that any person who by act or omission hindered the work of the tribunal, which had the status of the High Court, would be guilty of an offence.
The second matter which had come to his attention was a report in The Irish Times last Saturday, which referred to an alleged trip made by him and members of his team to the Cayman Islands. "There is no truth whatsoever in that story," he said. "Neither I nor any member of the tribunal went to the Cayman Islands. That was written without even checking with the tribunal office."
To guard against any more "inventive reporting", he wanted to state that the tribunal had engaged a firm of lawyers in the Cayman Islands. They would make an application in the courts there and evidence might be taken there.
Two of his counsel and a solicitor had visited the Isle of Man to interview certain bank officials about an account belonging to Mr Ben Dunne, with the permission of Mr Dunne. He, along with a solicitor and two counsel, had gone to London. One of the counsel, Mr Michael Collins SC, who was a member of the English Bar, had appeared in court to arrange to take evidence from bank officials there.
Mr Justice McCracken then gave representation to a number of individuals who had not already been granted representation at the tribunal.