A Donegal nightclub owner who was the victim of a miscarriage of justice was today awarded an interim compensation payment of 375,000 euro.
Frank Shortt, 69, from Redcastle, County Donegal, was convicted in 1995 of allowing drugs to be sold in his nightclub and served 27 months in prison.
But the Court of Criminal Appeal overturned the conviction in 2002 and declared that Mr Shortt had been the victim of a miscarriage of justice.
At the High Court, senior counsel Hugh Mohan, representing Mr Shortt, said the full judgement in the case would be delivered early next term. But added that the state was happy for a sum of money to be paid to Mr Shortt.
The president of the High Court, Joseph Finnegan, said he had intended to make a significant payment rather than a modest one. He directed the payment of 375,000 euro to Mr Shortt.
Mr Mohan said he would like the money to be paid today if possible. "My client is in difficult financial circumstances," he said.
Mr Shortt, who was not present in court, has said that he was left effectively bankrupt after his jail sentence and had no income or business to rely on.
He is seeking a multi-million euro compensation settlement and the full judgement is expected to be delivered in the High Court in October.