Courts / Ireland / Report

Second person sought to help examine seized FAI documents

Summary

In the High Court, Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds recommended that the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) consider appointing a second qualified person to assist barrister Niall Nolan in examining documents seized during its criminal investigation into the FAI. The matter, which involves former FAI CEO John Delaney as a notice party and the FAI as respondent, was adjourned to a date later this month. Mr Nolan, appointed last November to review materials over which legal privilege is claimed, reported good progress but described the task as mammoth. To date, privilege claims have been made for approximately 1,000 FAI documents and over 3,500 documents by Mr Delaney. Mr Nolan requested basic general information from the parties to aid his determination of privilege. Kerida Naidoo SC, representing the ODCE, stated the director would consider the appointment of an additional person but refused to disclose details of the criminal investigation to any party, including Mr Nolan. The judge declined to rule on Mr Nolan's requests at this stage, emphasizing that any information provided to him would be treated in strict confidence. The inspection concerns 280,000 files seized in February 2020, covering a 17-year period. The case has been adjourned from time to time due to the volume of documentation and the pandemic, with the judge hoping for completion in the coming weeks.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Second person sought to help examine seized FAI documents. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision

When:

• February 2020 Hearing Or Sentence
• 2021-01-14 Publication

Why: However, in order to speed up matters, he said consideration should be given to appointing an additional suitably qualified person to assist in the inspection. CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

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Stage Hearing Or Decision

Read the original CNI report