John Delaney privilege ruling leaves suspected crime issue open

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

John Delaney’s High Court privilege case remained unresolved on 10 August 2021, after the judge declined to decide whether suspected crime or fraud defeated legal professional privilege.

The case concerned material seized from the Football Association of Ireland during an ODCE criminal investigation into suspected wrongdoing at the association.

Ms Justice Reynolds held that the ODCE had not shown clear evidence, or a factual foundation, for applying the crime-fraud exception. She said the court would hear further from the parties about how the next stage should proceed.