A HIGH Court judge in the Republic has said it was never his intention to stop the fair reporting of statements in the Dil.
Controversy arose after Denis O'Brien, one of Irelands richest men, was granted an injunction against the reporting of details of his banking arrangements with the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC).
The Irish Times and RT went to court to establish whether the reporting of comments made in the Dail under parliamentary privilege trumped the ban.
Mr Justice Donald Binchy said yesterday it had not been his intention that his order would restrict such reports and it was entirely understandable for RT to seek clarification.
Its clear to me that the court cant make restrictions on the fair reporting of utterances in Dil ireann."
Lawyers acting for Mr O'Brien told the court that the Irish Times and RT should be allowed to report what Catherine Murphy, an independent TD, said about him in the Dil last week.
RT's lawyer David Holland claimed it was a spectacular climbdown by Mr OBrien.
In a speech to the Dil, Ms Murphy suggested Mr OBrien had secured a preferential interest rate of 1.25 per cent on loans of about Euro 500m (360m) from IBRC.
