Update 11am: The House of the Oireachtas has broadly welcomed the decision by the High Court to reject former Rehab chief executive Angela Kerins’ claim she was mistreated by a powerful Dáil committee, writes Fiachra Ó Cionnaith and Daniel McConnell.

In a ruling this morning, three High Court judges said the Dáil’s public accounts committee does not have a case to answer over its investigation into the charity’s finances in 2014.

Ms Kerins had taken a case against the PAC on the grounds she was mistreated during public meetings, which she said amounted to a witch hunt against her, and that her reputation had been damaged.

However, in a ruling, the High Court said the PAC did not overstep its powers.

The court said the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech in parliament was there to protect the democratic process itself, and that if Ms Kerins won her case the function of parliament would be impaired in a way prohibited by the Constitution.

In a statement, a Houses of the Oireachtas Commission spokesperson said it welcomed the judgement of the court, and that it will take time to consider the full implications of the ruling.

Earlier: Angela Kerins has lost her High Court action against the Public Accounts Committee.

The former CEO of the Rehab Group claimed its members acted beyond their powers during a hearing she attended in 2014.

She claimed she shouldn’t have been asked about “wholly private matters” like her salary and that she was the victim of a “witchhunt”

A short time ago, the President of the High Court Peter Kelly said the court didn’t have the jurisdiction to intervene.

He said Ms. Kerins was trying to make the Oireachtas amenable to the courts – something that can’t be done.

He said the utterances made by the various TDs were protected by the Irish Constitution.