Denis O’Brien arrives at the 4 Courts for his case against Oireachtas Committee #dobvdail pic.twitter.com/2rcBpBunwO
— Ruairi Carroll (@RCarrollTV3) December 1, 2016
This morning.
The Four Courts, Dublin 1
Denis O Brien arrivies to appear as the only witness in his action concerning certain statements made about his business dealings in Dáil Eireann by TDs Catherine Murphy of the Social Democrats and Sinn Féin’s Pearse Doherty. The businessman alleges that those statements breached his constitutional right to privacy.
More as we get it.
Rollingnews
Update:
This afternoon.
Denis O’Brien leaves the court after giving evidence.
To wit:
Denis O’Brien explained why he fundamentally believes the confidentiality of banking details is as important as medical records and that it’s important for the country, as a whole, and for the conduct of business.
He said he sought the court order against RTE in the interest of wider privacy.
He said, in parallel to his solicitors being in court, just two miles away their work was being undone. So, he argued, nobody has any protection of the courts if TDs are to act like this.
Mr O’Brien also said the international perspective in relation to this matter is bad for Ireland. People will take a view that Ireland is risky to invest in. It’s a considerable weakness, he said.
Mr O’Brien said he and his family were threatened and feared for their lives. However, he said he’s not speculating what promoted the threats.
Mr O’Brien said he felt having his personal banking details spoken about in the Oireachtas was wrong and the remedy for this would be to remove the ability to name any name on the floor of the Dáil.
He said personal banking files, belong to him, were stolen and given to a TD and that TD should have gone to the gardaí, instead of reading it out in Dáil.
Mr O’Brien stressed to the court that he was taking the action to ensure this would never happen again – to any citizen.
Mr O’Brien also admitted to deliberately trying to prevent media from reporting Dáil business.
Meanwhile, from Mr O’Brien’s testimony, during which he was questioned by Michael Collins SC, for the Dáil Committee for Procedure and Privileges…
Michael Collins: “You used the word reprove in your legal submission to the court.”
Denis O’Brien: “Censure is my preferred word.”
MichaelCollins: “So, you want court to issue it to TDs.”
O’Brien: “Yes.”
Michael Collins:“You want the court to express its disapproval of the TDs.”
O’Brien: “Yes.”
Michael Collins: “You complain re: motivation of TDs, you say they were trying to subvert court, you want court to investigate their motivation and reach a conclusion on it.”
O’Brien: “Yes.”
Michael Collins: “You complain no branch of government has issued adverse commentary re: TDs’ utterances.”
O’Brien: “That’s correct.”
Michael Collins: “You therefore want judiciary branch of government to deplore what occurred and make adverse comment; finding re: statements made by TDs.”
O’Brien: “Yes.”
In addition, Mr O’Brien also answered questions from the Attorney General’s Senior Counsel Maurice Collins…
Mauirce Collins: “Mr Cush [Denis O’Brien’s senior counsel] said, without any order, this complaint could still be brought by you, do you understand the effect of that would be to greatly restrict Dáil speech and isn’t that the intent of this action?”
O’Brien: “Yes. You’re trying to make victims out of two TDs yet I’m the one being wronged here. My details were stolen and given to them and they chose to release it.”
Maurice Collins: “I’m not trying to make any victims. I’m saying you want punitive actions against 2 TDs.”
O’Brien: “If unsuccessful this would never happen again.”
Maurice Collins: “You would say you were vindicated and TDs have been found wrong.”
O’Brien: “Yes.”
Maurice Collins: “Going froward TDs wouldn’t have privilege.”
O’Brien: “There would be a respect of privacy.”
Maurice Collins: “You want both censure of Catherine Murphy and Pearse Doherty and you want censorship of all TDs going forward.”
O’Brien: “The same situation faced by me would not be faced by others in future.”
Mauirce Collins: “Seems you wanted to sue them personally but if determination in this case clears path, you might.”
O’Brien: “It’s unlikely, though not ruled out.”
Maurice Collins: “Do you accept it was accepted by your own counsel and said by court itself on June 2nd that order never intended to extend to Dáil therefore you accept no breach.”
O’Brien: “They did.”
Mauirce Collins: “But your counsel differs from you on that matter.”
O’Brien: “If you say that then it must be true.”
Laughing in court
Maurice Collins: “Your case is founded on assertions and utterances made recklessly and in bad faith and you want court to endorse that?”
O’Brien: “Yes.”
Maurice Collins: “TDs are not here as individuals yet you’re making personal allegations. It’s not abstract.”
O’Brien: “Yes they acted recklessly and maliciously.”
Maurice Collins: “Yet they’re not here to defend themselves.”
More as we get it.
Pics: Rollingnews
Meanwhile…
This afternoon .
People Before Profit protestors outside the Four Courts urging Mr O’Brien to move back home from his tax exile in Malta.
Rollingnews
Not the most elegant man to ever get out of a car
Yeah, doesn’t he know he should have his knees together!
Is it safe to comment without fear of being sued by Dinny?…
In my opinion, I would suggest that maybe, just perhaps, he might possibly know all the staff by name.
Loyalty fob thing in the coffee shop, definitely
ohhh careful now, thread could get deleted before the day ‘s out!
Stop being afraid people.
He’s just a man.
With a lizard at the wheel
A man who owns the governing party, a vast swathe of national media, has a hotline to the courts and the resources to litigate five times a week in a country with some of the most restrictive and punitive defamation laws.
He has no more rights than you have.
Don’t let him think he has.
lovely blu shirt
Ah lads, give the man some…..er (sniff) …privacy…
court commenced with gas masks on
How long would proceedings need to take to trigger his tax resident clause?
ha! i like your thinking.
i’m sure this has been covered to death but aren’t TDs allowed to say what they want in the Dáil?
His argument appears to be as follows:
(1) That the blanket privilege given to members of the Oireachtas when speaking in that forum is unconstitutional in so far as it allows members to breach the constitutional rights of citizens;
(2) That the Oireachtas’s internal procedure for preventing abuses of privilege is so ineffective as to negate any argument that such breaches, if any, are proportional by reference to the usual justifications for parliamentary privilege
and
(3) That statements made by TDs Catherine Murphy and Pearse Doherty amounted to a breach of his constitutional right to privacy.
There may also be some argument over the nuances of Article 15.12 of the constitution – “All official reports and publications of the Oireachtas or of either House thereof and utterances made in either House wherever published shall be privileged.”
It might be argued that the privilege granted to utterances thereof does not amount to a blanket exemption from other constitutional provisions and protections, and that the balance of the conflict comes down in his favour.
interesting. thanks guys.
may he lose, and lose humiliatingly.
Now that is funny!!
Why should massive write offs and preferential interest rates funded by the Irish tax payers be considered private?
because that is how things are “done” in this corrupt back-water
+1
I’ve now been banned from TWO fora for mentioning his name. I”m saying nuttin’.
Dublin 7 lads. You could get sued for implying that he conducts his litigation at such a downmarket address as Dublin 1.
A privileged vicious snarling pink soft puffy little roly poly man.
funny little fat man,
nobodies laughing.
Aww. Bowie.
I think he’s concerned less about privacy and more about winning.
He’s obviously not stupid, actions like this draw massive attention and will ensure he remains a hot topic.
I think he’s more concerned with beating those who would berate him. He’s a successful entrepreneur, part of that personality is the need to win.
“successful” usually comes with an an asterix that points to something like… “albeit through brown envelopes as proven in the Moriarty Tribunal” …in fairness.
He’s successful, regardless of the manner in which he garnered that success. The fact that he continues to evade any sort of censure due to the moriarty shenanigans could arguable be said to be make him MORE successful.
You need to update your definition of success Rotsy.
“He’s obviously not stupid”
Go and find an interview with him Harold..any interview..when you hear him talk, you might rethink that statement, that he’s obviously not stupid.
I saw him speak for the first time on the PJ Mara doc the last night and I have to say, I was a little shocked that he wasn’t a little more polished and articulate!
That said, don’t think you can be a self made billionaire and completely thick
“self made”…. another one for the asterix me thinks :)
to an extent!!
As mad for the sueing as Dinny is, I can’t look on this as a bad thing.
With something as powerful as Dail Priveldge, it isn’t a terrible thing to subject it to scrutiny every now and then.
what would we do without the voice of reason here.. eh hello, no one is held accountable for things in this country. We need the likes of independent TDs telling us about the corruption. Be it in the gardai or Nama or whatever. They are the only people some whistleblowers can go to.
But I’m just a soul whose intentions are good
Oh Lord, please don’t let me be misunderstood
De ballad of Dinny
Donny is beginning to look like Bertie, and good enough for him too.
Balzac once said ‘Behind a great fortune, is a great fraud yet to be discovered’….