Esat Digifone representatives went "half-way around the world to disturb a very ill man" to get confirmation that he paid Fine Gael $50,000, rather than going to the party, the Moriarty tribunal has heard.
Mr David Austin, a Fine Gael fund-raiser, had arranged the payment to the party and on November 4th, 1997, at a meeting before Esat Digifone was to float publicly and publish a prospectus, the issue of the donation was raised.
It was agreed to seek confirmation from Mr Austin, who was undergoing chemotherapy in France, that the donation had been received by Fine Gael, Mr Denis O'Brien said. He said he wasn't sure who contacted Mr Austin but he, his solicitor or Mr Aidan Phelan, an accountant and associate of Mr O'Brien, could have.
Mr O'Brien said he was in California at the time at a roadshow and was met by his solicitor to discuss the donation and other matters related to the public offering. He was busy and would not have had time to contact Mr Austin himself.
"I didn't have time to bless myself at the time, you eat on the hoof," he said.
Mr John Coughlan SC, for the tribunal, asked why Fine Gael was not contacted for confirmation rather than disturbing Mr Austin. "Sometimes people don't do the obvious thing," Mr O'Brien said. He added: "Would it not be the practical thing to go to the person who initially approached on behalf of Fine Gael and ask them?"
If anyone had approached Fine Gael to ask if they had received the payment from Esat Digifone or Telenor, the answer would have been no, as it was made as a personal donation from Mr Austin, Mr Coughlan said. "How would I know that?" Mr O'Brien replied.
He said the matter of confirming the payment was about "dotting the `is' and crossing the `ts' ". There was nothing illegal in making a political donation which was why the issue was included in the prospectus.
He said that "since my windfall 18 months ago", he had made donations to political parties and would have to check if he got receipts for them.