The former minister for communications, Mr Alan Dukes, decided in favour of a national scheme for the short-term licensing of television deflector services despite advice from senior civil servants, the High Court was told yesterday.
Mr Sean McMahon, principal officer in charge of the telecommunications and radio regulatory division of the Department of Communications, said he and others within the Department had held the view that illegal deflector operators should not be licensed.
He said there were concerns about the possibility of litigation by MMDS operators should deflector systems be licensed. The minister was told that potential claims for compensation could range from £44 million to £70 million.
Mr McMahon agreed that the minister ultimately decided in June last not to sign the regulations for the new scheme. He made that decision after being informed that the minister for finance was unwilling to sign the regulations.
The witness said he had received legal advice concerning the new scheme and had communicated it to the minister. The advice related to the exposure of the State to claims by MMDS operators.
Mr McMahon said he had "irregular" and "off-the-record" meetings with representatives of MMDS companies.
The cross-examination of Mr McMahon continued yesterday on the fifth day of judicial review proceedings being taken by South Coast Community Television Broadcasting Service against the Minister for Communications, the director of telecommunications regulations and the Attorney General.
South Coast, which operates a deflector system rebroadcasting British television channels to homes in east Cork and west Waterford, is seeking several orders, including one quashing the purported refusal on April 15th last by Mr Dukes of the company's application for a rebroadcasting licence.
Mr McMahon said a report from European Broadcasting Union consultants which assessed South Coast's application for a licence and suggested that deflector services could be licensed on a short-term and restricted basis had been received in February 1997.
He agreed with Ms Mary Finlay SC, for South Coast, that her clients had been asked to keep the report confidential and that, at that stage, the report had not been published.
Mr Dukes had made up his mind by April 15th, 1997, in favour of a national restricted licensing scheme for deflector operators, Mr McMahon said. The minister had met South Coast and told it of the proposed new scheme and also informed the company he was refusing its licence application.
The hearing continues today before Mr Justice Carney.