By Clara Finn
The High Court has ordered RTÉ to provide the Chief Inspector of Social Services with the complete unedited undercover footage gathered at two nursing homes for an RTÉ Investigates programme broadcast in June 2025.
The footage was recorded by undercover researchers working at The Residence Portlaoise and Firstcare Beneavin Manor. The broadcast showed material which RTÉ interpreted as evidence of prolonged and systemic care failures. Before transmission, RTÉ gave HIQA detailed reports of its findings.
Chief Inspector Sean Egan — the judgment refers only to the officeholder, not by personal name — sought all of the raw footage to assess whether further regulatory action was required. RTÉ remained neutral on the application but said its journalistic and confidentiality obligations meant it could disclose the material only under court order.
Ms Justice Egan granted what is known as a Norwich Pharmacal order, a form of disclosure order traditionally used to obtain information from a third party connected to alleged wrongdoing.
The judge held that the broadcast established a strong case of possible breaches of statutory duties, regulations and care standards. She also accepted that the unedited footage could not realistically be obtained elsewhere and was necessary to allow the Chief Inspector to assess the full context of what happened.
The judgment records significant regulatory action already taken at both homes. This included restrictive admission conditions, repeated inspections, staffing and governance requirements, and referrals to An Garda Síochána in June 2025 over suspected offences involving vulnerable residents.
The court considered the application unusual because RTÉ had not facilitated the alleged wrongdoing. Instead, it had investigated, recorded and exposed it. Egan J held that RTÉ’s active investigative role amounted to sufficient involvement for an incremental extension of the Norwich Pharmacal jurisdiction.
Privacy and data-protection concerns were also considered. The court found that disclosure was justified by the Chief Inspector’s statutory safeguarding functions and by protections contained in the proposed order.
The judge emphasised that the decision should not be treated as authority for routine disclosure of journalistic material. RTÉ had not claimed journalistic privilege or source protection in this case.