The tribunal will begin hearing evidence today concerning payments to Mr Michael Lowry. The evidence is expected to take a few weeks.
The central issue to be examined is the financial relationship, if any, between Mr Lowry and Mr Denis O'Brien, founder of Esat Telecom.
Esat Digifone, an associate company, benefited hugely from the granting of a mobile phone licence by Mr Lowry's Department in 1995. The subsequent sale of Esat Digifone to BT netted Mr O'Brien £230 million.
Mr Lowry's role in overseeing the granting of the licence is likely to be the focus of a later series of sittings, which will examine decisions he made which may have been influenced by payments.
The tribunal is known to be examining four transactions involving Mr Lowry and Mr O'Brien. They are: a £33,000 payment to Fine Gael; a £147,000 sterling payment to Mr Lowry from the late Mr David Austin (The money was from the sale of a property by Mr Austin to Mr O'Brien); a purchase by Mr Lowry and a business partner of an English property in 1996 using approximately £225,000 sterling which had come originally from an account belonging to Mr O'Brien; the use of a further £75,000 sterling from the same account for the purchase of a second English property.
Mr O'Brien may be called to give evidence this week or next. Mr Lowry is not expected to give evidence until near the end of the series of sittings.
