A seven-judge Supreme Court has ruled the Dail Public Accounts Committee acted unlawfully in its treatment of former Rehab CEO Angela Kerins when she appeared before two hearings of the committee.
The court today granted Ms Kerins a declaration to that effect and made that declaration against the Dail rather than individual members of the PAC.
It has adjourned consideration of other issues and said any dispute between the sides about the further progress of the case should be decided by the High Court in the first instance as the Supreme Court decision related to the first module of Ms Kerins case only.
That decision means any consideration of whether Ms Kerins is entitled to damages will be made later.
The court also today awarded costs of the proceedings to date to Ms Kerins against the Dail.
The judgment could have significant implications for the work of parliamentary committees and raises important issues concerning the courts’ ability to intervene in proceedings of Oireachtas Committees.
In an interim judgment on the appeal last February, the court held there is no “absolute barrier” to the bringing of proceedings concerning the actions of a committee of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
It directed a further hearing to decide whether the actions of the PAC “as a whole” amounted to an unlawful and unfair process.
Today, it declared the PAC acted unlawfully in how it questioned her by reason of acting significantly outside its terms of reference and in a manner significantly different from the basis of its invitation to appear before it.
