High Court refuses private hearing application in patient-data case

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

The High Court refused the HSE’s application for a private interlocutory hearing in proceedings involving Neill Bradley. Mr Justice O’Connor gave the ex parte judgment on 5 June 2020.

The HSE sought a private hearing to protect patient privacy and prevent the dissemination of sensitive data. The report said Bradley had publicly threatened to release patient databases, including through social media.

The court said exceptions to the constitutional principle of public justice must be narrowly construed and found that the HSE had not demonstrated sufficiently pressing circumstances to justify a private hearing. The interlocutory hearing proceeded publicly.

The judgment also considered possible safeguards, including anonymising witnesses and redacting sensitive information, to address privacy risks without closing the proceedings.

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