Fitzwilton loses bid to stop hearing on Burke payment

THE Fitzwilton group yesterday lost a High Court bid aimed at restraining the Mahon Tribunal from holding a public hearing into the payment in 1989 by one of its companies of £30,000 (€38,092) to former minister Ray Burke.

But an injunction put in place stopping the tribunal from starting the public hearings in the matter is to stay in place until the new year as the Fitzwilton group, owned by billionaire and Independent News and Media chief executive Tony O’Reilly, consider an appeal.

Fitzwilton had claimed the tribunal could not proceed to a public hearing into the matter because this would be in breach of its terms of reference as amended in December 2004.

It contended those terms required the tribunal to stipulate in writing what matters would go to public hearing by May 1, 2005, and it claimed the Fitzwilton payment was not so stipulated.

In his reserved judgment, Mr Justice Kevin Feeney said the court was satisfied that a tribunal document of April 28, 2005, is clearly a written record of the decision taken by the members of the tribunal on that date listing the additional matters which should proceed to public hearing.

Mr Justice Feeney said no precise wording was required and the April 2005 document records the decision in writing.

Declining the application for judicial review, Mr Justice Feeney said he was satisfied the tribunal has complied with the requirements in its terms of reference.

Considering the matters in issue, the judge said the court had to have regard to the special nature of a body such as the tribunal of inquiry.

At the hearing of the application, the court was told the Fitzwilton group had, through a subsidiary company, made a payment to Mr Burke in 1989 in advance of that year’s general election.

Mr Burke had officially solicited the payment, the company added. However, Fitzwilton said that while the money was intended as a political donation for Fianna Fáil, it was learned in 1998 that Mr Burke had retained £20,000 of the sum.

Fitzwilton first learned, from a letter of July 15, 2005, that the tribunal was to hold a public hearing into the payment. This came as “a bombshell” to the group.