High Court sets date for Ahern tribunal case

A High Court challenge by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to limit the work of the Mahon tribunal will be heard in April.

A High Court challenge by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to limit the work of the Mahon tribunal will be heard in April.

Mr Ahern has taken a High Court challenge to what he claims is the "manifestly unconstitutional" inquiries by the tribunal into certain banking transactions conducted through his account in 1993 and 1994.

A three-judge High Court hearing will begin on April 1st in a Divisional Court - which only deals with major cases of significant constitutional or legal importance.

Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill said he had discussed the matter with the President of the High Court as the case raised issues of constitutional privilege. It was decided the hearing would go before a Divisional Court because of the issue of constitutional privilege relating to the Houses of the Oireachtas.

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The Taoiseach's lawyers said today that the hearing would last three days. The legal team is asking the court to make an order banning the inquiry from accessing financial advice he received.

Lawyers for Mr Ahern, who was not in court, are seeking to prevent the tribunal questioning him on statements made under Dáil privilege - even if they were repeated elsewhere. They are also challenging the handing over of specific documents which feature independent advice from a banking expert.

Mr Justice O'Neill heard today the tribunal has also agreed to the continuation of a stay - granted to Mr Ahern by the court last Monday - on its order requiring Mr Ahern to produce documents relating to financial advice given to him by Paddy Stronge, a financial consultant and former chief operating officer of Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking.

Mr Ahern claims the 150 documents are legally privileged, and the stay will continue in force pending the outcome of the action.

Fine Gael justice spokesman in the Seanad Eugene Regan said the Taoiseach's challenge would result in the tribunal being delayed by around six months and add to its already spiralling cost.

He said there was a "very real prospect" of the losing party appealing to the Supreme Court which would likely set a hearing date in late June or early July.

Mr Regan said: "With the tribunal not scheduled to sit over the summer months, the most recent targeted date for the tribunal to finish hearing witness testimony by the start of the summer, will not be met.

"In fact, the likelihood is that the Mahon tribunal's hearings will not be completed before the end of this calendar year with the final publication of its findings pushed back accordingly."

Mr Ahern is due to appear as a witness at the inquiry next week.

Last month, the Government narrowly won a Dáil vote on a motion supporting the Mahon tribunal after a debate by TDs.