Denis O’Brien to testify on use of Dáil privilege

Billionaire businessman Denis O’Brien will give evidence today in his High Court action alleging two TDs “clearly disregarded” the constitutional separation of powers between parliament and the courts when they made statements in the Dáil about his banking affairs.

Mr O’Brien maintains a Dáil committee failed to “properly police” Social Democrats TD Catherine Murphy and Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty in relation to their statements and the court should find those amounted to “unwarranted interference” with the judicial domain.

His counsel Michael Cush SC argued the TDs knew, when making their statements in May and June 2015, that Mr O’Brien had initiated proceedings to prevent RTÉ publishing details of his banking affairs with State-owned Irish Bank Resolution Corporation.