The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has been ordered to hand over documents to former Rehab boss Angela Kerins, over claims the spending watchdog conducted a 'witch hunt' against her.

Ms Kerins appeared before the committee last year to answer questions about payments made by Rehab including queries about her salary and bonus entitlements.

She claims the committee was hostile, biased and acted beyond its remit.

The former Rehab CEO was grilled by the PAC in February last year.

Her lawyers say questions about her €240,000 salary, her car and any bonus entitlements were pursued in a hostile manner, rather like a witch hunt.

They say the spending watchdog had no power to examine her on the expenditure of the Rehab Group, and that the procedures adopted were unfair and tainted by the bias of individual committee members.

'Struck from PAC records'

Ms Kerins says the intensity of the examination left her publicly degraded, affected her health and led to her hospitalisation.

She wants High Court damages and orders that all mentions of her and her employment with Rehab will be struck from the record of the PAC.

Lawyers for PAC deny her claims that Rehab is a private body - and they say the payments investigated involved the expenditure of public funds.

Ahead of the full hearing, her legal team has secured access to certain documents the committee had refused to disclose that Ms Kerins believes will advance her case.

Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy has ordered PAC to to hand over details or records of any meetings where the PAC discussed Rehab, and decided to examine payments made by the group.

She found the release of documents was in the interests of justice, but lawyers for the PAC have intimated they may appeal the discovery order.