More applications for High Court

The High Court now faces the possibility of receiving numerous applications by individual print and broadcasting organisations…

The High Court now faces the possibility of receiving numerous applications by individual print and broadcasting organisations for leave to publish or broadcast the identity of the pregnancy counselling agency at the centre of the unlawful custody case.

As soon as Ms Justice McGuinness yesterday gave the go-ahead to The Irish Times to publish the name of the agency in today's paper, notice of an application on behalf of RTE was made to the court.

The judge told Mr Eamonn Kennedy, for RTE, that because of a lengthy and urgent bail application, she would be unable to hear RTE's application yesterday.

Following Tuesday evening's late sitting of the court in which The Irish Times was granted leave to identify the agency, with a stay in the event of an appeal until 2 p.m. yesterday, the court restrained every other section of the media from publishing the agency's name. As a result, RTE's application could be the first of many.

READ MORE

The court's order restrains everyone, with the exception of The Irish Times, from identifying the agency, other than by following the precedent set by The Irish Times of applying for leave on the constitutional grounds of freedom of expression and that justice must be administered in public.