A jury has begun hearing a High Court defamation action by a property developer who claims his reputation has been tarnished by Fine Gael's Lucinda Creighton.
It is alleged the Minister of State defamed Cork developer Michael O'Flynn in a speech to the Magill Summer School entitled 'Standards in Public Life and Accountability' in July 2010.
Mr O'Flynn alleges he was also defamed by the Minister in a follow-up interview on RTE and in The Irish Times.