'Irish Times' to appeal Mahon decision

Irish Timeseditor Geraldine Kennedy and public affairs correspondent Colm Keena are appealing to the Supreme Court against a High Court order requiring them to answer questions from the Mahon tribunal relating to the source of an article about financial payments to Taoiseach Bertie Ahern when he was minister for finance in 1993.

The appeal is expected to be heard by a five-judge court on a date next year which has yet to be fixed.

On the basis of an undertaking by Ms Kennedy and Mr Keena that they will take all necessary steps to ensure a speedy hearing of the appeal, Denis McDonald SC, for the tribunal, told the High Court yesterday the tribunal would agree to a stay on the High Court order pending the appeal. Counsel added his side was seeking the costs of the High Court hearing.

Eoin McGonigal SC, for Ms Kennedy and Mr Keena, said his clients accepted the tribunal was entitled to its costs but there was to be an appeal to the Supreme Court which his side would expedite.

President of the High Court Mr Justice Richard Johnson, presiding over the three-judge court and sitting with Mr Justice Peter Kelly and Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill, said the court would stay both the order requiring the defendants to answer questions and the costs order pending the appeal.

Last month, the three-judge court said it would make an order requiring the journalists to answer questions from the tribunal about the source of the article, written by Mr Keena and published in The Irish Timeson September 21st, 2006, about the payments to Mr Ahern. It was published under the heading: "Tribunal examines payments to Taoiseach".

In its judgment on the proceedings, the court found the newspaper's privilege against disclosure of sources in the case was "overwhelmingly outweighed" by the "pressing social need" to preserve public confidence in the tribunal. As that could only be done by the tribunal asking the journalists questions, the court believed the orders sought by the tribunal were necessary in a democratic society.