By Dearbhail McDonald Legal Editor

Friday December 24 2010

ANYONE leaking details of the Finance Minister‘s plans to deal with the banks under new legislation faces fines of up to €100,000 and a possible three-year jail term.

The secrecy surrounding the minister’s dealings with the banks under the new Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Act was underlined yesterday when court proceedings were held in private.

Journalists were asked to leave the High Court as the Government sought an early morning hearing, held ‘in camera’, to deal with Allied Irish Bank (AIB).

There the Government secured an order allowing it to inject a further €3.7bn of state funds in to AIB — a move that has led to its effective nationalisation.

Sensitive

The plan to inject further capital in to AIB had been widely publicised in the media. But a news blackout was imposed on the facts and contents of the court application.

A legal provision allows all or part of a court application under the new banking law to be held ‘in camera’ to protect the publication “of any material that might be commercially sensitive”.

Restrictions can also be imposed on the publication or reporting of any commercially sensitive material disclosed in open court. The law also bans publication of the fact that the minister proposes to make or has made a proposed direction order.

- Dearbhail McDonald Legal Editor

Comment:

Are we now experiencing the first steps by the government to take away  the  freedom of the press.

 Court hearings in private and threats been made to patriots trying to get the truth out to the rightful masters of this country “The People” .Now where are you most likely to experience such state intervention  “Why North Korea would be a good place to start” !

Not only are the government forcing us to take on the debts of their pals the equally corrupt bankers we’re now experiencing the first steps of freedoms we have guaranteed by the Irish constitution been taken away from us  and again this is been done step by step drip by drip

This is the classic way all dictatorship start.

Cowen, Lenihan and their cronies are becoming more brazen as time goes by! 

Lying has become the norm for this government