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LAST UPDATE | 24 hrs ago
A FILE HAS been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) relating to the findings of the Moriarty Tribunal – the payments to politicians inquiry.
It’s 14 years since the tribunal findings were first referred to gardaí for a review which led to a criminal investigation.
In a statement, gardaí said a file has been forwarded to the DPP and “no further information is currently available”.
The Tribunal was established in 1997 to examine payments to former Taoiseach Charles Haughey and to Michael Lowry, a former Fine Gael Minister for Communications and current independent TD for Tipperary North.
Lowry was interviewed by gardaí investigating matters related to the Tribunal last August, as first reported by The Journal.
Lowry is a member of the Rural Independent Group, which is involved in government formation negotiations with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
The Criminal Assets Bureau’s investigation has been ongoing for several years. Previously, a 2017 Garda file did not progress to the point of a direction for prosecution by the DPP.
Officially called the Tribunal of Inquiry into certain Payments to Politicians and Related Matters, it took 14 years to find that Lowry had an “insidious and pervasive” influence over the awarding of Ireland’s second mobile phone licence in the 1990s to Denis O’Brien’s Esat Digifone company.
The 2011 Tribunal report found that it was “beyond doubt” that Lowry gave “substantive information” to O’Brien and that this data was “of significant value and assistance to him in securing the licence”.
It also found that O’Brien had made two secret payments to Lowry in 1996 and 1999 which amounted to £500,000 and supported a loan of £420,000 given to Lowry in 1999.
The Tribunal found that the O’Brien payments were “demonstrably referable to the acts and conduct of Mr Lowry” during the competition process which benefited Esat Digifone.
The payments were routed through a series of offshore bank accounts – travelling from the Isle of Man to Jersey and back to the Isle of Man to an account in Lowry’s name.
Denis O’Brien has rejected the findings of the Moriarty Tribunal and claimed it was based on mere “opinions” and was not findings of evidence, fact or law.
Lowry for his part alleged that the tribunal’s report was “factually wrong and deliberately misleading”.
In a statement this evening, Lowry said that he received a request for assistance from An Garda Síochána last year.
“I freely, voluntarily and willingly met with them on one occasion and was fully cooperative,” said Lowry.
“This was the only engagement or correspondence I had with the gardaí over the fourteen years since the report was published.”
Lowry added: “At no point, on that occasion or since, was it suggested that there were or are any charges being contemplated against me.
“I am fully confident that there is no basis for any liability attaching to me.”
Lowry said that all involved have “steadfastly maintained that there was no wrongdoing or impropriety attached to the award of the GSM licence, some 29 years ago”.
“Furthermore, the State, through the Chief State Solicitor’s office, have consistently and vigorously defended the award of the licence in long drawn out speculative civil cases taken by two of the unsuccessful applicants,” said Lowry.
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Well done,a great days labour…..a lot on here just think you go in past the 1.5million euro security hut, down past the 365 thousand euro bike shed,see the 190 thousand euro fitness instructor for an hour before going off to the heavily subsidised dail bar for a spot of lunch.
@Buster Lawless: haha buster your gas.
@james rowan: lol!( chuckle)
@james rowan: good evening sir, I have no malice whatsoever towards the lady in question and by the sounds of it you are a big fan and I respect that.
I just felt the way he put it altogether was if you like clever and I had a chuckle and hence gas.
Very well said Catherine
@Eoin O Flaherty: Too bad she isn’t as vocal about the urgent necessity to build the bypass and stop the city chocking. Nothing moves in the city most of every day. Everything going east – west and vice versa has to funnell through 3 effective bridges – 2 of which marshelled on both sides by traffic lights. 2 of the 3 bridges were built in the era of ass & carts.
@Ger Murphy: in fairness it was the Greens that put the kybosh on that.
They seem to think massive congestion is good for the environment…
One of the few politicians I admire
@Eddienowy Byrne: in fairness she’s very good.
If only we could have a 13b euro windfall……..
It’s not just Galway. The single biggest infrastructure problem in this country is our water provision and waste water systems. It’s sickening to think how much raw sewage is pumped into our rivers and the sea and the damage its doing to aquatic life and ultimately ourselves. But there’s no votes in water. Noone cares as long as water comes out the taps and they can flush the jacks.
Many of our super confident and knowledgeable politicians have missed operational careers in utilities and house building that would have our country flying
Another reason not to vote for independents who stay in opposition
She might as well howl at the moon
@James Gorman: Catherine Connolly is one of the few td’s of any integrity in the Dáil unlike many Independents who are FFG in all but name
@James Gorman: She’s a great advocate for the people Ireland. Done more with her time as a TD than most of the chancers in government ever did
@James Gorman: And yet this is a failure of government parties, not the independent TD.
If anything, this will be forced to a resolution.by the independent TD *despite* the uncaring government parties.
@James Gorman: Sorry don’t agree.. She is a good TD, has integrity and genuine desire to help her country. We need more like her.
@Hayagriva: just like your man donnelly who was elected as an independent and within a few weeks joined ff and got a job as a minister of some sort, I hope the people who voted for him remember that….
@Darth O’Leary:
She has the luxury of never having to make a decision.
@James Gorman: ah no. She’s a genuinely hard working decent politician.
@James Gorman: Catherine Connolly is one of if not the best politician in the Dail. Truthful, always polite, and honest.
I’m not in her area. Pity we don’t have more like her.
She is respectful of all yet gets her point across. She doesn’t stand at the gates for every photo op when there is something going on.
Ye can say a lot about most wasters in the dail. But she is a good one.
@James Gorman: If she howls at the moon, the moon would listen.
Probably most of the problem comes from vast amounts of rainwater going into the sewage system overwhelming the capacity to safely treat?
Imagine bragging that you completely failed to secure proper funding for your local council during 17 years and blaming the government.
@Alex: but the councils around the country have been charging development levies on new builds since 2006,to pay for all the infrastructure and the house tax since 2013 was another boost to the budgets. So what are they doing with all the money? Pi§§ING it up against a wall like the opw
@P. V. Aglue: not even a wall in the bike shed to piss up against.
Great spot for speech and waffle where no accountability ever happens,reminds me of match of the day were they just talked pure s#### for a while to pass time. Except in there it’s large salaries and expenses talking about problems and not solving them.
The bikes are getting pissed on now as we post.
Well spoken and highlighted but, this situation should also be voiced by and come from the Galway Councillors as it did originally. Unfortunately at the moment some of the Councillors are lost in mediocre or even lesser drum beating like shipwrecks on the shore, or the inconveniences of the Chamber moving to Mervue. Should the situation as outlined by you not be dealt with, then there will be more than Ships on the Shore !
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