Fitzwilton Ltd was yesterday granted leave by the High Court to seek access to documentation from the Mahon tribunal before the tribunal begins public hearings into a IR£30,000 payment by the company to Ray Burke for Fianna Fáil funds.
Ms Justice Mary Finlay Geoghegan granted Fitzwilton permission for a judicial review of the tribunal's decision not to divulge the contents of documents and set the hearing for September 20th, one day before the tribunal plans to begin public hearings.
Mr John Gordon SC, for Fitzwilton, said the company was seeking a declaration that the tribunal's refusal to allow Fitzwilton access to particular documents was a breach of fair procedures and of natural and constitutional justice.
Fitzwilton is also seeking to quash the tribunal's decision refusing access to the documents and an order compelling the tribunal to make the documents available to its legal team.
Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan heard that before the 1989 general election Fianna Fáil officially solicited a political contribution of IR£30,000 from Fitzwilton, which the company agreed to make via Mr Burke.
While the entirety of the money was intended for Fianna Fáil, the contribution had been made in Mr Burke's house on June 7th 1989. At a Fianna Fáil fund-raising lunch in the Westbury Hotel on June 8th, Fianna Fáil had sought Fitzwilton's contribution from Mr Burke, who had handed over only IR£10,000.
Members of Fianna Fáil's fund-raising committee had made a complaint to the then taoiseach, Charles Haughey, about the IR£20,000 shortfall, and Mr Haughey had told them to leave the matter to him.
Fitzwilton claimed in court that Mr Burke was well aware that the contribution was a political contribution to Fianna Fáil and that a crossed cheque had been made payable to cash at Mr Burke's suggestion.
The company had not become aware until 1998 that Mr Burke had retained IR£20,000 and it was claimed that Fitzwilton's former chairman, Sir Anthony O'Reilly, had not learned until some 10 years later that the political contribution had been made via Mr Burke.
Fitzwilton had been contacted by the tribunal in April 1998 about the contribution, which was now the subject of an investigation by the tribunal.
On July 15th last, the tribunal had informed Fitzwilton that public hearings relating to the political contribution would begin on September 21st next. Fitzwilton had sought delivery of documents, including all material received by the tribunal from Fianna Fáil, to include any and all of the party's banking records and witness statements. These had been refused.
Mr Gordon said Fitzwilton was concerned that the refusal would prejudice the company at the forthcoming public hearings and would seriously impair its capacity to vindicate its good name.
The judge granted Fitzwilton's legal team the right to serve notice of motion on the tribunal by 4pm today, and she granted the tribunal a further seven days to file grounds of opposition to Fitzwilton's legal challenge.