Two-thirds of the orders made by the Moriarty Tribunal for discovery of documents relating to the financial affairs of Mr Charles Haughey and his family are to be quashed.
This follows the Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday that the sole member of the tribunal, Mr Justice Moriarty, should have given the Haugheys notice of his intention to make orders for discovery of documents, such as bank accounts, and given them a chance to make representations.
Sources have confirmed that parties representing the State and the tribunal, on the one hand, and the Haugheys, on the other, have reached agreement that 23 of the 36 orders made by the tribunal are to be quashed because they were made "other than in accordance with fair procedures".
The quashing of the 23 orders was not mentioned in the Supreme Court yesterday. The tribunal will now be deprived of the benefit of such orders, though the Supreme Court has ruled that Mr Justice Moriarty is not precluded from making similar orders in the future providing he applies fair procedures. This will have the effect of delaying the tribunal's investigations and the date for the start of public hearings.
Meanwhile, Mr Haughey's appeal of the Revenue Commissioners' assessment of his tax liabilities arising from the £1.3 million payments by Mr Ben Dunne was held in camera yesterday. The payments were established by the McCracken Tribunal last year. Sources refused to reveal the amount of tax being sought by the Revenue Commissioners.
