A Sligo/Leitrim TD who’s a member of the Dail Public Accounts Committee says three Supreme Court ruling in the Angela Kerins case will focus attention on how Oireachtas committees do their work.
The Supreme Court found the Committee acted unlawfully in its treatment of the former Rehab Group chief executive.
The Supreme Court has declared the actions of the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee as unlawful in its treatment of the former chief executive of the Rehab Group, Angela Kerins.
The court said by conducting a public hearing in a manner significantly outside of its terms of reference and which also departed significantly from the terms of the invitation issued to Ms Kerins, the committee had acted unlawfully.
It is now open to Ms Kerins to return to the High Court to pursue further legal action in relation to the case.
She will be awarded costs against the Dáil in relation to this first part of her High Court case and the costs of the appeal.
Sligo/Leitrim Fianna Fail Deputy Marc MacSharry, who is on the current Public Accounts Committee, says he understands how the Supreme Court came to its decision.
Deputy MacSharry said there is an issue with parliamentary privilege, under which Oireachtas members are granted certain legal immunity in the course of their work.
