Irish Times and Colm Keena Lose Case to Protect Sources

The High Court today ruled in favour of the Mahon Tribunal and against the Irish Times in the Bertiegate case. The tribunal is seeking to have the paper and its journalist, Colm Keena, reveal the source of the material which sparked Bertiegate earlier this year in September 2006.

The planning tribunal sought the order against Irish Times editor Geraldine Kennedy and public affairs correspondent Colm Keena under Section 4 of the Tribunal of Inquiry (Evidence) (Amendment) Act 1997, which requires them to answer questions at the inquiry.

The tribunal is trying to find the source of the information about payments to Mr Ahern when he was minister for finance in 1993.

The NUJ are understandably disappointed with the decision since they would justifiably feel those leaks were in the public interest (say what you like about the outcome, but that information was better off in the public sphere before the election rather than after it). It it should be interesting to see what tack the Tribunal take here. It seems they are duty bound to find the source of the leak but Kennedy admitted to destroying documents that might have proven the source’s identity. There is precedent here of course where the Morris Tribunal won a similar order against Howlin and Higgins to reveal the sources of allegations made against Gardai.

There has been no mention of further appealing the decision, as a lay man I must assume that the Tribunal has some sort of standing such that one cannot appeal? Or are they likely to take that option? It seems that if the Tribunal wants to further investigate the allegations of cash payment it will be forced into investigating the sources of the leaks so as to avoide perceptions of bias and the likely rancour that will pour down from a variety of columnists and interviews to the Sunday Independent.