High Court reportersThe Ditch media company has issued High Court proceedings challenging a decision by the Standards in Public Office (Sipo) Commission to refuse to provide it with an annual donation statement ahead of it being presented before the Houses of the Oireachtas. Ditch Media Limited alleges it requested a copy of Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s 2022 annual donation statement last August. It says it wants to seek the 2022 donation statements of other Oireachtas members but is precluded from doing so due to the “unlawful position” adopted by Sipo. Sipo allegedly told the website that permitting inspection of donation statements before its review is completed “would hamper the commission’s ability to properly complete its compliance function”. She said The Ditch is a “separate organisation with its own editorial control, and its views do not represent those of Web Summit”.

Source: The Herald November 23, 2023 16:40 UTC