Second person to assist review of FAI files claimed as privileged

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

A second independent person is to assist in examining FAI files over which former chief executive John Delaney claims legal privilege, following a High Court ruling on 2 March 2021.

Ms Justice Leonie Reynolds ruled that the additional person should assist barrister Niall Nolan BL. The two will prepare a report to help the judge decide which material is privileged and cannot be used by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) in its investigation.

The examination concerns about 280,000 files seized from the FAI in February 2020 as part of an ODCE criminal investigation. The judge said the additional person had been sought by Mr Nolan to speed up the process, with completion envisaged by May or June 2021. She was not prepared to appoint five additional independent people as the ODCE had sought.

The judge also fixed 23 March 2021 for a hearing of Mr Delaney’s application to have the proceedings held in private. The Sunday Times opposed the application, with support from several other media outlets. Mr Delaney’s counsel said his client was concerned that material he claimed was private or legally privileged could come before the court.