O'Brien questions integrity of Moriarty Tribunal

Businessman Denis O'Brien is calling for Justice Michael Moriarty and his legal team at the Dublin Castle tribunal to step aside and make way for an independent, overseas judge to replace him.

In a statement released this evening, Mr O'Brien said: "The integrity and independence of the Moriarty Tribunal has been undermined and compromised by its own actions and shortcomings."

On Friday evening, Mr Justice Moriarty issued an unprecedented statement defending the tribunal and hitting back at what he described as "a sustained attack on its work".

Responding to this, Mr O'Brien said that, were it not for the work of himself and others in calling key witnesses to the tribunal, the final report would already have been published.

A fact Mr O'Brien said would have been a "travesty of justice".

The statement goes on to say that "the Tribunal as presently constituted is simply not capable of producing an impartial final report".