February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Andrew Bushe
DUBLIN – Disgraced former Taoiseach Charles Haughey is unlikely to ever face criminal charges of hindering and obstructing the McCracken tribunal after the High Court ruled recently that a Circuit Court judge did have the jurisdiction to adjourn the trial.
The McCracken tribunal established Haughey had received £1.3 million in payments from businessman Ben Dunne.
The Circuit Court had ruled in June that Haughey could not get a fair trial as a result of media publicity about him, including remarks made by Tanaiste Mary Harney and new evidence emerging from the Moriarty tribunal.
The High Court gave the director of public prosecutions leave to apply for a recommencement of the Circuit Court trial.
The Moriarty tribunal has stopped hearing evidence from Haughey since his lawyer claimed last month his prostate cancer had worsened.
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An independent medical report on the former taoiseach’s medical condition is being arranged.