Taoiseach stays quiet on Denis O’Brien controversy

Taoiseach Enda Kenny will remain silent for now on the unprecedented stand-off between the political system and the judiciary which has convulsed the Irish media world.

What appears like a David versus Goliath struggle between the billionaire businessman Denis O’Brien and the previously low-key backbench Independent TD Catherine Murphy prompted much debate over the bank holiday weekend.

Ms Murphy has no association with any party these days, but when she departed from the Labour Party more than a decade ago she cited "destructive internal intrigues" as a motivating factor. The whirlwind she is currently at the centre of retains the potential to spiral into something much more damaging.

Political focus on the controversy is set to intensify this week, although the Dáil remains firmly in recess, with Fianna Fáil last night criticising Taoiseach Enda Kenny's "breathtaking" refusal to comment on the matter.

This follows Fianna Fáil leader Michael Martin's acclaimed performance in a verbal tussle with Mr O'Brien's spokesman James Morrissey on RTÉ's This Week programme.

Interject

Those closest to the Taoiseach clearly believe that while Opposition figures are allowed a certain latitude to interject in such cases, it could be unwise for Mr Kenny to intervene in the debate at this stage given the weight that would be attached to his comments.

In any event, it seems unlikely that the small number of Government personnel, including Minister for Transport Paschal Donohoe who expressed comments over the weekend, would have done so without the knowledge and sanction of their political masters.

Government chief whip Paul Kehoe held the line, saying Dáil business would resume on this day week (Tuesday, June 9th) as scheduled.

He intends to consult with the Opposition whips at that stage “on issues of concern they want debated in the House and how to facilitate such a debate”.

There has been a push for legal counsel representing the Houses of the Oireachtas to attend the High Court today along with The Irish Times and RTÉ.

No plans appear to be afoot in that direction, however. The matter would have to be considered by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission in the first instance.

There may be further twists and turns to come. Asked if she intended putting more information on the Dáil record, Ms Murphy said: “I have a queue of additional information that I’ve requested under [Freedom of Information] that should be coming to me in the coming weeks.”

This documentation will relate to the relationship between the Department of Finance and the IBRC in the period before it was wound up, she said.

All those interested enough to have sought it out will by now have read Ms Murphy's speech on the Oireachtas website, or the satirical news website broadsheet.ie, or as it was covered in the Sunday Times newspaper or the Guardian.

The Editor of The Irish Times Kevin O'Sullivan has explained that legal advice, following Ms Murphy's Dáil statement, was that reporting the speech in full would involve a breach of an injunction, and that it was not clear that the absolute privilege referred to in the Constitution Article 15.12 would afford privilege in such a way as to allow for a disregarding of the court order.

Court order

An initial online report was amended and the issue reported “in the fullest possible way, having regard to the court order”.

Solicitors for Mr O'Brien wrote to The Irish Times shortly afterwards asserting that reporting of Ms Murphy's statements would result in an application to court to enforce the injunction.

An intriguing cast of characters has had their say, with former attorney general and ex-minister for justice Michael McDowell and former IBRC chairman Alan Dukes intervening robustly.

Meanwhile, Ms Murphy insists she had an obligation to act on information she believes came to her “in good faith”.