Deirdre Foley and D2 lose Clerys investigation challenge

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Deirdre Foley and D2 Private Limited lost their High Court challenge to the Clerys redundancies investigation on 25 October 2016. The applicants sought to quash inspectors’ entry to their Dublin premises and seizure of materials.

Mr Justice Twomey refused the relief sought, finding that intervention was premature while the investigation remained at an initial stage. The judgment held that challenges to the legality of the entry or the admissibility of evidence should be made at a criminal trial, if one resulted.

The court also held that the inspectors’ powers extended to entering premises used as a place of work, even though Clerys employees did not work there. No prosecution had been instituted against the applicants at that point.

This report covers an earlier stage of the case. Later developments are not reported here.