Tipperary North TD Michael Lowry has today described the conclusions of the Moriarty tribunal as “deeply hurtful and offensive”.
The tribunal’s report, published yesterday, found the former minister for communications “secured the winning” of the 1995 mobile phone licence competition for Denis O’Brien’s Esat Digifone.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dáil earlier he had asked Minister for Communications Pat Rabbitte to refer the report to the Director for Public Prosecutions and to the Garda Commissioner.
The move was welcomed by Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin who described the report as "profoundly disturbing". Both he and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore have called on Mr Lowry to resign.
However, Mr Lowry said he was “sickened and saddened” by the findings, which he insisted were not grounded in evidence or fact.
In an interview with local radio station Tipp FM today, Mr Lowry said: “I’m extremely disappointed that he [Mr Justice Michael Moriarty] would have used the latitude which tribunals have to effectively form opinions which to me are deeply hurtful and offensive.
“He has taken liberty with my reputation and the reputation of almost every other witness, including senior experienced civil servants.” Mr Lowry, an Independent TD who topped the poll in his Tipperary North heartland last month, accused the tribunal of ignoring and dismissing evidence from key witnesses.
Mr Lowry said the case against him was “threadbare”. He also went on to claim he had been smeared by the tribunal findings. “I have never received any money from Denis O’Brien, and I have never received any money from anybody on his behalf,” he said, adding: "I’m saying the report is unfactual."
Mr Kenny confirmed to the Dáil the report would be debated in the House next week and that the Government chief whip would make arrangements for the debate.
The Fine Gael leader said the US$50,000 donation from Esat Digifone made to his party in 1990s was "wrong" but inisted the then taoiseach John Bruton, when informed about it, asked that it be sent back immediately.
He was replying to questions from Mr Martin who pressed Mr Kenny for a formal response to the report, noting Fine Gael had not provided any spokesperson to the media on the issue.
Earlier, Mr Martin described the granting of the second mobile licence to Esat Digifone as "the biggest political and corporate scandal in the history of the State".
He also said Mr Lowry should consider his position following the adverse findings of the tribunal, although he added that it was unlikely he had acted alone.
"Despite the fact that he has been returned and elected time and time again, his [Mr Lowry's] behaviour in relation to this was appalling, said Mr Martin on RTÉ's Morning Ireland. "I think he should consider his position in terms of the damning nature of the report," he added.
While criticising Mr Lowry's actions, the Fianna Fáil leader said he did not believe the former communications minister acted independently in deciding to award the licence.
"This was a government decision. The principle of collective cabinet responsibility applies here. Of the present Government, six ministers sat around that table including the Taoiseach himself," Mr Martin said.
Businessman Declan Ganley, a member of the losing Cellstar consortium in the competition for the second mobile phone licence in 1996, has welcomed the findings of the report.
Speaking on RTÉ radio today, Mr Ganley said the report was "damning" and that he hoped the matters raised would be "brought further".
"The Irish taxpayer is the biggest loser in this," he said. Mr Ganley is currently suing the State and other parties in relation to the licence competition.
Mr Ganley confirmed he was seeking compensation in relation to the competition. He also said he believed the State would be able to recoup some of the money spent investigating the granting of the licence.
The marathon tribunal, which published its second and final report yesterday, found that Mr O’Brien made two payments to Mr Lowry in 1996 and 1999 totalling approximately £500,000 and supported a loan of £420,000stg given to Mr Lowry in 1999.
In his 2,348-page report Mr Justice Michael Moriarty found that the payments from Mr O’Brien were "demonstrably referable to the acts and conduct of Mr Lowry" during the licence process, acts which benefited Esat Digifone.
The report said there had been repeated efforts to mislead and frustrate the tribunal and to conceal the links between Mr O’Brien and Mr Lowry, and this had contributed to the time the tribunal had taken.
The report also finds that Mr Lowry, when minister, interfered in a rent arbitration process in an attempt to secure a benefit for the businessman Ben Dunne, who was making payments to Mr Lowry.
Mr O’Brien said last night that he rejected the tribunal’s findings and stood over his evidence to the tribunal that he had not given “one red cent” to Mr Lowry. Asked in an RTÉ interview if he thought Mr Justice Moriarty was stitching him up, he replied: “Absolutely, from the very first day.”
In a statement today, Mr O'Brien welcomed the Taoiseach's decision to refer the report to the DPP.
He said: "I have no doubt whatsoever that when this report is reviewed by a proper legal authority with appropriate accountability, that none of the expressions of opinion which form the basis of the tribunal's report will withstand any objective scrutiny.
Mr O'Brien said the report of the tribunal was "based solely on 'opinions', which find no basis in evidence, fact and law".
A Garda spokesman said that because the tribunal report had only been published, it was impossible to say what action, if any, might be taken. However, it is understood Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan is likely to ask some of his senior officers to review the report with a view to identifying any criminal or corrupt matters that should be investigated, as has been the case when other tribunals have reported.