Former Rehab chief wins appeal over treatment by PAC

FORMER charity boss Angela Kerins may have been treated unfairly when she was questioned by the Dáil Public Accounts Committee about her €240,000 salary and perks, the Supreme Court has ruled.

Seven of the country’s most senior judges said yesterday that the PAC acted outside its remit and may even have behaved ‘unlawfully’ in the manner in which it questioned Ms Kerins.

The 60-year-old former Rehab CEO complained that she was questioned ‘intrusively’ in 2014 by TDs at the PAC about her six-figure salary, bonuses, the value of her company Audi A4 and alleged trips by helicopter.

In 2017, three High Court judges rejected her case, ruling that Ms Kerins’s complaints were outweighed by the absolute need for freedom of speech in parliament.

But now, she is a step away from victory following yesterday’s 100page ruling, largely in her favour, by the Supreme Court. Ruling: Ex-CEO Angela Kerins

The ruling – which could ultimately lead to a damages payout in Ms Kerins’s favour – could have a major effect on the powers of the Oireachtas to investigate how public money is spent.

The judges found that while the PAC enjoys some level of immunity from legal action, designed to protect freedom of speech, this is not an ‘absolute barrier’ to suing such a committee.

The PAC’s behaviour in 2014 may have amounted to a ‘substantial breach of its obligation to treat Ms Kerins fairly’, Chief Justice Frank Clarke said in the court’s decision.

The judges ordered further hearings in April.

A step away from victory