Ansbacher report to be published in full next Tuesday

The President of the High Court has ruled that the Ansbacher report will be published in full and be made available to the public…

The President of the High Court has ruled that the Ansbacher report will be published in full and be made available to the public next Tuesday.

Up to 200 individuals and companies are understood to be named in the report, which took three years to complete.

Today at least ten people were represented before Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan seeking to have their identities concealed prior to publication of the report into tax evasion by people holding Ansbacher accounts in the Cayman Islands.

Counsel for a group of unidentified account holders, Mr Micheal Collins SC, argued that in the current climate in Ireland, to be called an Ansbacher account-holder was "shorthand for tax evader".

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Mr Collins said this could be very damaging for those people who merely held accounts and did not engage in fraudulent activity.

He said that if a "wrongful thing" was printed and published in the report, the damage could not be undone. Once a person was identified, they could not be unidentified, he said.

Mr Justice Finnegan said he wanted the report to be published in full so as to vindicate the good names of people mentioned in the press who were not mentioned in the report.

Giving his ruling, Mr Justice Finnegan said the report was merely a gathering of information and conclusions, and no-one could be found guilty of a crime or punished as a result of disclosure.

Mr Justice Finnegan said he accepted Mr Justice McCracken’s ruling in a related case in April, which stated that persons wishing to prevent publication of their names must reveal their identities prior to bringing a case before him.

He said Mr McCracken’s judgement was a "correct statement of the law".

The Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Mary Harney immediately welcomed the High Court ruling.

Following the announcement, the Progressive Democrats leader said: "It has always been my strong view that the findings of this investigation should be put into the public domain and I very much welcome the decision of Justice Finnegan to allow this happen".