The Government press secretary, Mandy Johnston, has begun a High Court libel action against the Star newspaper.
Ms Johnston claims her good name and reputation were damaged as a result of what was described in court as a sleazy piece of journalism which compared her to call girls and prostitutes.
She was the senior Fianna Fáil press officer at the time when the article appeared in 1996.
The article referred to Mandy Rice-Davis of the 1963 Profumo Affair which brought down the British government of the day.
