The former Fine Gael minister for transport, Mr Michael Lowry, held a private meeting with the head of one of the bidders for the second mobile phone licence in breach of Department protocol on such contacts, the tribunal heard.
Mr Lowry, without anyone else from his Department present, held discussions on the competition with Mr Tony Boyle, chairman of unsuccessful bidders Persona Digital Telephony, at Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, Killiney, south Dublin on August 16th 1995, shortly after the application date had closed.
This was despite the existence of a protocol whereby any official involved in the competition, including the minister, was supposed not to discuss the issue with a member of an applicant consortium without another official present.
Under the protocol, designed to safeguard confidentiality, an official note of each meeting was also meant to be taken.
However, none could be found for this meeting, according to tribunal counsel Mr John Coughlan SC.
Mr Coughlan said the meeting had been arranged by Mr Frank Conroy, a Fine Gael fundraiser and non-executive chairman of an insurance firm with links to Persona. He noted Mr Lowry had stayed as a guest of Mr Conroy before and after the meeting at the latter's penthouse apartment near the hotel.
In his account of the meeting, Mr Boyle said Mr Lowry "listened intently" to what he had to say about the strengths of Persona's bid, and that the minister indicated he was aware it was a "very strong contender". Mr Lowry said he could recall conveying to Mr Boyle his view of the purpose of the competition, and that Mr Boyle in turn gave him an indication of what Persona's call-charges would be.
Mr Conroy said that after making the initial introduction, he did not attend the meeting, which he said lasted 15-20 minutes. Mr Coughlan said the tribunal would inquire into all circumstances of the meeting in the context of the protocol for confidentially and the advice given by the secretary of the Department about contacts with members of declared consortia.
