The concert promoter and cofounder of Century Radio, Mr Oliver Barry, last night confirmed that he made a payment of £5,000 to a senior RTE executive around the time that Century was being set up in 1989.
Mr Barry told The Irish Times that he had given full details of the payment to the Flood tribunal last February, when he first appeared at the tribunal.
Asked what the purpose of the payment was, he said he would leave that to the tribunal.
Last Thursday, an anonymous note sent to the RTE newsroom alleged that Mr Barry gave the executive a brown envelope containing £5,000 to £10,000.
The manager at the centre of the allegation has acknowledged to RTE management that he received £1,500 from Mr Barry, but has said he saw nothing untoward in the payment. He has said the money was a "thank you" to RTE transmission personnel for their work in getting Century up and running. The money was used to fund two small drinks parties for project and transmission staff, he added.
RTE had been contracted to provide transmission facilities nationally for Century, which was launched in September 1989.
RTE is carrying out an internal investigation, according to a statement issued by the station last night. It said RTE had immediately informed the tribunal on hearing of the allegation and it had offered all assistance.
The Flood tribunal is investigating a donation of £35,000 made by Mr Barry to Mr Ray Burke, then minister for communications, in May 1989. Century had been awarded the franchise for the first national commercial radio station four months previously. Century and RTE disagreed on the fee Century would pay in return for piggybacking on RTE's national transmission system. RTE's initial demand was for £1.14 million, but it later dropped this to about £614,000 on Mr Burke's urging.
Early in 1989, RTE and officials of Mr Burke's department settled on this figure, but Century complained to the Minister and said it was not willing to pay more than £375,000. Mr Burke then forced RTE to reduce its fee to less than £300,000.
