RTÉ HAS SERVED papers to the High Court seeking to find out the terms of an injunction handed down last month.
In a statement, the national broadcaster said that it was seeking to find out just what is in the High Court injunction which prevented it airing a story relating to the banking details of businessman Denis O’Brien.
The businessman has claimed that comments made by independent TD Catherine Murphy were an abuse of privilege, and his lawyers have warned repeating them could breach a High Court injunction he earlier took out against RTÉ.
In an opinion piece in today’s Irish Times, O’Brien says that he has “never experienced this level of hatred”.
He says that he felt the RTÉ story breached his privacy.
For me this was an intrusion too far. Over the past several years, some of the media in Ireland has become more and more vicious and invasive and this was a deliberate attempt to misrepresent my personal banking relationship.
He said that Murphy’s statements were “erroneous and untruthful” and that whatever details were handed to her were “stolen”. He challenged Murphy to show him the documents. Murphy, for her part, says that she is confident that her sources are reliable.
He goes on to criticise Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin for supporting Murphy, but criticising Mary Lou McDonald for revealing the names of those on an Ansbacher list earlier this year.
O’Brien then accuses former Justice Minister Michael McDowell of having an “agenda” against him.
He says that there is a “feeding frenzy” on him.
It is done behind the cloak of secrecy and anonymity and the principle that “my enemy’s enemy is my friend”. Social media being used for this purpose is crowded with cowards.
“I have never experienced the level of abuse, venom and hatred resulting from taking a stand to protect privacy in relation to my financial affairs.”
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