The reluctant witness: The tribunal believes a Danish consultant who worked on the 1995 licence competition is not going to give evidence.
Michael Andersen gave assistance to the tribunal from June 2001 to June 2002 and was paid by the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications for doing so. At the same time he was also providing consultancy services to the Irish Communications Regulator.
However, in June 2002 the tribunal was told Mr Andersen would not be providing further assistance unless an indemnity was provided to his former company, AMI, covering further costs arising from Mr Andersen's tribunal work.
The tribunal was told AMI had been purchased by a firm called Merkantildata, which had made the above decision.
Mr Andersen told the tribunal he was in dispute with Merkantildata about money he was owed and would not be giving assistance to the tribunal until the matter was resolved.
The tribunal was subsequently told by solicitors for Merkantildata that it had no objection to Mr Andersen assisting the tribunal in a personal capacity. However, this didn't satisfy Mr Andersen and he said he still wanted to wait until his dispute with Merkantildata was resolved.
Mr Andersen met the tribunal legal team in Copenhagen in late October 2003. It emerged that Mr Andersen was seeking an indemnity from the State covering any claims that might arise out of any proceedings related to the licence competition.
"What was apparent from the tribunal's dealings with Mr Andersen dating from June 2003 was that his stated reasons for non-attendance as a witness to the tribunal and the matters which he was stipulating as conditions to his attendance altered as each such condition appeared, at least to the tribunal, to be met," Mr Justice Moriarty said in his ruling.
More recent tribunal correspondence to Mr Andersen has not been responded to.
