Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

The findings of the Moriarty report are self-evidently absolutely devastating for Deputy Michael Lowry and others who are directly criticised therein. The report has very serious implications for the way in which the State does its business. It makes for very sobering reading. It casts a very dark shadow over the awarding of the most valuable licence awarded by any Government in the history of the State. It also casts a shadow over politics in this country. This comment is not to be interpreted in a party-political way because previous tribunal reports have cast a similar shadow and future ones may well do the same. We, as Members elected to this House, must face up to that in a very honest and forthright way.

With regard to the report, it is very clear that the integrity of the awarding of the GSM licence is now in shreds. This may have profound consequences for the State. It concerns me and, I am sure, every other Deputy in the House that legal proceedings are still under way in regard to the awarding of the licence. There can be no doubt that the case of the unsuccessful bidders for the licence has now been strengthened considerably by the content and conclusions of the report issued by Mr. Justice Moriarty.

It is deeply disturbing that the procedures and guidelines that were to be followed in regard to the awarding of the licence, which were adopted in March 1995 by the then Cabinet, were clearly not adhered to. The memorandum to Cabinet, which was approved on the day in question, refers to the process as a sealed process that would be entirely non-political and that Ministers would be guardians of the process, reserving the final decision on the awarding of the GSM licence for themselves. It is clear that the content of the memorandum was not adhered to, and we have all seen the consequences of that, as detailed in a forensic fashion by Mr. Justice Moriarty.

Mr. Justice Moriarty and his team are to be thanked for the work they have done on compiling such a comprehensive report. That does not take away in any way from our right, as Members of this House, to criticise the delay in and cost of the process, and to endeavour to arrive at a more efficient mechanism for getting to the truth if issues such as these ever arise again. Please God, they never will.

My party leader, Deputy Micheál Martin, made a very comprehensive statement to the House last night on the Moriarty report. The views he expressed are shared by all members of our party. I welcome the fact that the new Government has referred the report speedily to the Criminal Assets Bureau, the Garda and the Office of the Revenue Commissioners. That was a very important step and its speed is to be welcomed. It is regrettable that the significant matters dealt with in the report are only now finding their way into the hands of the competent bodies given that the licence was awarded almost 16 years ago.

The contribution by the Taoiseach yesterday when opening the debate on the Moriarty report was deeply disappointing. The Taoiseach is a man of integrity but he adopted an almost neutral stance on the report's findings. When challenged on the floor of the House this morning, he refused to state whether the Government accepts the clear findings and conclusions of Mr. Justice Moriarty in his report. The Taoiseach very deliberately steered clear of making any criticism or concurring with any criticism made by Mr. Justice Moriarty of any individuals mentioned in the report. That response was disappointing, notwithstanding the constraints that clearly exist owing to the ongoing legal proceedings.

Perhaps the Taoiseach's reticence in endorsing or accepting the findings of the report can be explained by the fact that the Fine Gael Party is criticised deeply in the report, particularly over the handling of the $50,000 donation from Telenor, the Norwegian sister company of Esat Digifone. Mr. Justice Moriarty makes it very clear in the report that there was a very clear pattern of significant and conspicuous financial support for Fine Gael by Mr. Denis O'Brien and Esat Digifone around the time of the awarding of the licence. That was designed to raise the company's profile and its chances of success in the licence competition. The report finds that Mr. O'Brien's companies donated over £22,000 to Fine Gael between January 1995 and June 1996.

Let us be clear that the tribunal found that Fine Gael concealed from it the $50,000 donation by Telenor. The donation was made in December 1995 and was not returned until 2001, six years later. One cannot but draw the conclusion, in the context of the report that has been issued, that the donation represented a thank you cheque from Esat Digifone to the Government for its support in awarding the licence thereto. Mr. Justice Moriarty makes it very clear in his commentary that, without the media disclosures that occurred in 2001, the matter would have remained hidden from the public. That is a pretty damning indictment of one of the main political parties in this country, which party is now the main party in Government. Mr. Justice Moriarty states: "No person or entity connected with the payments saw fit to notify the Tribunal of it, notwithstanding a substantial degree of knowledge of its clandestine circumstances and proffered return." It is likely that, without the media spotlight in 2001, the issue would have remained hidden from the tribunal in its work.

The tribunal was set up by the Oireachtas in 1997 by resolution of the Houses, as articulated by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte. It held public hearings for eight years. Both yesterday and in the days immediately following the publication of the report, we witnessed an unprecedented attack on Mr. Justice Moriarty and the entire judicial system. We are being asked to believe there is a State-wide conspiracy within the judicial system to stitch up certain individuals, and that the conclusions and findings of the report should not be believed.

The conclusions in the report concerning Deputy Michael Lowry are very damning and I do not have to read into the record again the conclusions of Mr. Justice Moriarty in that regard. Deputy Lowry will now have to address those conclusions and findings with the relevant authorities to whom the report has been referred.

The report states there were three financial transactions for the benefit of Deputy Lowry and that they originated from Mr. Denis O'Brien and companies associated with him. The sums in question totalled £867,000 sterling. The report goes into quite forensic detail on the flow of those transactions. It now needs to be established as a matter of fact whether those payments were actually made. The report is very clear in stating they were, and that they were for the benefit of Deputy Michael Lowry. Members of this House must accept the findings of the report in that regard. The money trail will now have to be pursued once again by the competent authorities.

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