Harney to challenge court ruling on Dunnes inquiries

Lawyers for the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, will make an application to the High Court on Monday that an authorised officer conducting an inquiry into two Dunnes Stores companies be allowed continue with his work.

The application will seek to overturn aspects of a ruling delivered by the courts on Thursday following an ex parte application from Dunnes Stores. Ms Harney held consultations with her legal advisers yesterday and the talks will continue over the weekend. The precise arguments which will be made in the court have not yet been decided.

On Thursday lawyers for the Dunnes companies were granted leave to seek a judicial review of the decision to appoint Mr Gerard Ryan, a civil servant, to Dunnes Stores (Ireland) Company and Dunnes Stores (Ilac) Ltd. They were also granted a stay on Mr Ryan acting as an authorised officer pending the hearing, which could take up to six months to come to court.

Ms Harney said she will "vigorously defend the decision to appoint an authorised officer to the two Dunnes companies". She criticised the use of the courts to hinder inquiries and tribunals established by the Government.

The appointment of the authorised officer arises out of the McCracken report and subsequent inquiries by authorised officers appointed to Mr Michael Lowry's company, Garuda, and Celtic Helicopters. An accountant, Mr George Maloney, was appointed to the Dunnes companies by Ms Harney in July 1998, but the appointment was contested by the companies on the grounds that Mr Maloney had once worked for a daughter of Mrs Margaret Heffernan, a director of Dunnes Stores.

Mr Maloney resigned because of the perceived conflict of interest and Mr Ryan was appointed in his place. A judicial review of the appointment was heard in the High Court in November 1998, and ruled in Ms Harney's favour. However, she was instructed by the court to give her reasons for the appointment to Dunnes, which she did by way of a confidential affidavit. As part of that process, it was agreed that Mr Ryan would not seek documents from Dunnes prior to January 4th.

It is understood Mr Ryan sought documents from the companies earlier this week, with a deadline of yesterday evening for their delivery. According to Dunnes' submission to the High Court on Thursday, Mr Ryan had sought 120,000 documents created since the incorporation of the companies. The documents sought include the Price Waterhouse report, which is a report on certain payments made by Mr Ben Dunne during his stewardship of the Dunnes group.