The Moriarty tribunal has reimbursed more than €400,000 in legal costs claimed by the late father of businessman Denis O’Brien and an Isle of Man company owned by the telecoms tycoon a quarter-century after the inquiry into payments to politicians was established.
The reimbursement in the past six months followed the tribunal’s examination of Mr O’Brien’s £4.3 million sterling purchase of the Doncaster Rovers’ football ground in 1998.
The tribunal linked the Doncaster purchase to former Fine Gael minister Michael Lowry during its investigation into the 1995 award of the State’s second mobile phone licence to Mr O’Brien’s company, Esat Digifone.
Mr O’Brien has always rejected outright the tribunal’s 2011 report and its conclusion that he gave money to Mr Lowry, who “secured the winning” of the second licence for him. Mr Lowry, now an Independent TD, also dismissed the tribunal’s report and its findings on one of the most lucrative State licences ever awarded.
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New information has come to light about the tribunal’s payment of legal costs claimed by Denis O’Brien Snr, who died aged 86 in 2016. The payment included costs claimed by Westferry Ltd, the Isle of Man company involved in the purchase by his son of the Doncaster property.
“As per our records, [the] State Claims Agency was reimbursed by the Department of the Taoiseach to the amount of €416,851 which was to LK Shields Solicitors, for claimants Westferry Limited and Denis O’Brien Senior,” the department said in response to questions.
The claims body, part of the National Treasury Management Agency, is responsible for managing third-party cost claims against the State.
There was no comment from Mr O’Brien’s spokesman on the payment of legal costs in respect of Mr O’Brien Snr or Westferry. That company featured in tribunal hearings almost 20 years ago in relation to investigations into the Doncaster property.
In its report, the tribunal said it was “satisfied that Mr Lowry did have an involvement in the Doncaster Rovers transaction, which it was intended would entail a payment to, or the conferral of a pecuniary advantage on, Mr Lowry by Mr Denis O’Brien”.
Still, the tribunal was unable to determine the “precise nature” or Mr Lowry’s interest in the deal “or the extent to which it was intended that [he] would benefit from it”. Although the tribunal could comment on what it believed may have been the nature of Mr Lowry’s “interest and involvement”, the report said it would be “unduly speculative” to do so.
The legal costs were awarded despite the tribunal in its 2011 report accusing Denis O’Brien Snr and his son of concealing information.
They were among seven people Mr Justice Michael Moriarty accused of “persistent and active” concealment, saying it was “calculated to obscure from the tribunal evidence indicating monetary connections” between the Esat founder and Mr Lowry. The tribunal also accused Mr Lowry of concealment.
An Garda Síochána sent a file in 2017 to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) after investigating the alleged obstruction of the tribunal’s work and the DPP “directed no prosecution”.
