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High Court issues redacted version of its judgment in Denis O'Brien/RTÉ case

The High Court has issued a redacted version of its judgment two weeks after it ordered RT&Eacute...
Newstalk
Newstalk

09.13 3 Jun 2015


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High Court issues redacted ver...

High Court issues redacted version of its judgment in Denis O'Brien/RTÉ case

Newstalk
Newstalk

09.13 3 Jun 2015


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The High Court has issued a redacted version of its judgment two weeks after it ordered RTÉ not to broadcast details of Denis O'Brien's banking arrangements with IBRC.

Some sections that would have been redacted from the judgment are now included because of comments made by Independent TD Catherine Murphy under Dáil privilege.

When Mr Justice Donald Binchy made an order two weeks ago prohibiting RTÉ broadcasting a story about Mr O'Brien and IBRC, he stopped the media reporting the details until his judgment was redacted.

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But a week later under Dáil privilege, TD Catherine Murphy claimed Mr O'Brien was receiving a 1.25% interest rate from IBRC and sought a continuation of a verbal agreement with the bank's special liquidators.

Now the 48-page judgment is available with four redactions - there would have been more, but the deputy's comments mean the information is already in the public domain.

The judgment does shed light on why Mr O'Brien stopped the RTÉ broadcast into corporate governance at the State-owned bank.

Mr Justice Binchy says if a verbal agreement was reached without approval from IBRC's credit committee, it would be indicative of a failure of corporate governance.

But he found no evidence of a substantive nature was presented to the court that would show that was the case.

In a statement published this evening Denis O'Brien said he was delighted with the judgement released by Mr. Justice Binchy in the High Court today.

In particular, he said he notes Mr. Justice Binchy's statement that, "the existence of a right to confidentiality between a bank and its customers had been recognised in law for almost a century."

Mr O'Brien said he also noted that during the hearing RTE emphasised there was no allegation of wrongdoing against him of any kind.

Newstalk.com's courts correspondent Francesca Comyn told Lunchtime what else we know now.


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