Oireachtas lawyers have asked for more time to prepare their defence in a “very novel” case brought by billionaire businessman Denis O’Brien.

Wealthy people simply cannot understand why their business affairs should be put under the microscope, even when the conduct of those affairs impinges to a great degree on the public interest, writes Kyran Fitzgerald.

A proposal to investigate the controversial €45m sale of the Siteserv company to billionaire Denis O’Brien is expected to be put to Government on Monday.

Denis O’Brien’s Communicorp media group is set to become the fourth largest commercial radio owner in the UK after agreeing the acquisition of eight regional stations.