The High Court has heard that former CEO of the Rehab Group Angela Kerins self-harmed 15 days after appearing before an Oireachtas Committee.

In February 2014, she attended a meeting of the Public Accounts Committee where she was asked about her management of the charity’s finances.

The charity was coming under huge pressure to explain its salary and pension bill and she was quizzed about her salary of €240,000.

She claims PAC acted outside its powers and is seeking damages for the adverse impact the seven hour hearing had on her health.

The three-judge panel was told today that on March 14, 2014, she became unconscious in her home after self-harming and needed to be rescued.

She described it as a “witch-hunt” and said the tone of the meeting quickly became judgemental with members examining and re-examining her about what she considered to be “wholly private matters” including her €240,000 salary.

She said she was overwhelmed by the media storm that followed with hundreds of articles portraying her as some sort of villain.

She was seen by a psychiatrist a few days after and later transferred to a hospital in Dublin.

While there, she said she became convinced that her death was the only way to resolve the controversy and protect both the organisation and her family.

Back at her home, the court heard she wrote suicide notes and took a large quantity of pills and alcohol. A concerned friend raised the alarm and she was rescued.

The hearing is due to take up to six days.