Source: The Irish Times

A High Court judge urged Specsavers and the co-owner of its Ennis store to call off what he described as a “war” after multiple legal actions between the parties aired allegations of multimillion-euro tax evasion, alleged criminality over expenses and disputes about the use of artificial intelligence in legal submissions. Sean Power, a 28-year-old director and co-owner of the Ennis branch, alleges he was targeted by Specsavers after assisting another branch’s investigation and claims a 5 per cent marketing charge on turnover was diverted to pay a €81 million dividend to a Guernsey entity controlled by the chain’s founders; Specsavers denies impropriety and accuses Power of misusing internal systems to download confidential financial data. The litigation also includes contested expense claims said to relate to a UFC event in Manchester, a flight from Florida to London, Ticketmaster spending and payments to Ciara Neville, an Irish sprinter who works at the Ennis store and is Power’s girlfriend; Power says he is a whistleblower who has made 61 claimed protected disclosures and has injunctions preventing his removal.

Specsavers introduced social-media images of Neville into court filings, which Power and his counsel described as taken from Instagram and irrelevant; Power complained in a letter read in court that the pictures were used “without notice, relevance or decency” and that her athletic achievements were instead weaponised in evidence. Specsavers’ barrister said a professional forensic trawl of public posts showed a narrative that Neville had a public profile and appeared abroad when she was meant to be working. The court heard that Power sent emails to thousands of Specsavers partners alleging improper charging practices, that Power has used AI tools in preparing parts of his case (which Specsavers criticised as producing inaccurate attributions), and that a previously commissioned independent investigation is on hold. Both sides gave undertakings to maintain the status quo at the end of a preliminary hearing, with both parties expressing a desire for a full trial, which they said they hoped would begin in July.