Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)

I will be as brief as all the other speakers. The Taoiseach knows that on 2 March 1995 the Government decided that a recommendation would be put by the Minister to Government in time for a final decision on the granting of the licence by the end of October 1995. I refer to the Moriarty report, chapter 61.07:

The intent of the Decision of 2nd March 1995, was that the process should be conducted under the aegis of the Department, and that, whilst a recommendation was to be made to Government by Mr. Lowry, the decision on the winner of the competitive process was reserved to Government.

In other words, it was not for Deputy Lowry or the project group to award the licence but rather it was the Government's function and responsibility to award it. Can the Taoiseach say how he and every other Minister in the Cabinet allowed the Cabinet and the Government to be bypassed in the awarding of the most valuable licence in the history of the State? In the context of the events of that afternoon of 25 October 1995, when the then Minister, Deputy Lowry, the Taoiseach, Mr. Bruton and Mr. Spring-----

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