The Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty has said he has information not given to the Moriarty tribunal about a Doncaster Rovers deal involving Michael Lowry.
The tribunal investigated the €5 million purchase in 1998 of the Doncaster Rovers stadium in England as part of its inquiries into financial links between Mr Lowry and the businessman Denis O’Brien.
It decided that Mr Lowry had some involvement in the transaction which it was intended “would entail the conferral of some sort of pecuniary advantage on him” but was unable to say what the precise nature of his interest was.
This was due to the concealment and suppression of information and the deliberate falsehoods it encountered when trying to investigate property transactions in England involving Mr Lowry, it said.
How will Storm Éowyn impact Dublin? What to expect during Met Éireann’s Red weather warning
Cabinet appointments criticised as only three women become Ministers
Ireland weather updates: Storm Éowyn red alert extended to full island of Ireland with public transport cancelled on Friday
Businessman Paddy McKillen ‘became aggressive’ with bailiff at luxury €30m Paris apartment, French court hears
Mr Lowry denied any involvement and Mr O’Brien said the investment was 100 per cent owned by a family trust.
In the Dáil Mr Doherty said Mr Lowry’s evidence to the tribunal was “totally false”.
“Let me put some new information onto the record. Deputy Lowry had 57 meetings in relation to the Doncaster deal – including here in the houses of the Oireachtas – with the organiser of the project and sports representatives. And in the boardroom of Doncaster football club itself.
“Will he explain also, in September and October 2001, why his accountant paid the person putting the Doncaster deal together two bank drafts of £32,500 and £25,000 for his fee? And when he is doing it maybe he will explain why these payments, made from an account in Gibraltar, were never disclosed to the tribunal.
He also called on Mr Lowry to explain why, on March 15th, 2001, he met with other key individuals in Dublin. The outcome of the meeting was the creation of a false narrative and fake documents that were given to the tribunal, he said.
“Maybe he should explain why he and two others went to a rural farm, on August 2002, to burn the original documents pertaining to these deals. He did so to make sure that the truth would never see the light of day.”
Mr Doherty said his information came directly from one of the other men present, whom he did not name.
Addressing Taoiseach Micheál Martin, he said: “Maybe the next time you sit down with Michael Lowry to discuss your grubby programme for government, you can ask him why he burnt those documents and why his accountant made these secret payments.”
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
