Note could point to confidential information

A solicitor's note may indicate that confidential information was available to a member of the Esat Digifone consortium during the time of the 1995 competition for the State's second mobile-phone licence.

The tribunal was shown a note of a meeting between Mr Arthur Moran of Matheson Ormsby Prentice, solicitors, and Mr Per Simmonsen, an executive with the Norwegian firm Telenor, which formed part of the Esat Digifone group.

The meeting, on October 10th, 1995, discussed matters relating to the licence competition then nearing completion. In Mr Moran's note the name of Mr Denis O'Brien's company, Communicorp, appears opposite the words "political contacts".

Also the note contains the words, "decision, end November 1995, in fact decision 2/3 weeks". At the time a critical path for the licence competition process envisaged a decision being taken as to the winner in late October 1995, with the decision being considered for a further month or so before being publicly announced.

Mr Jerry Healy SC, for the tribunal, said the note was dated the day after a meeting of the assessment team was told that the minister knew the ranking of the bids for the licence. He said the note indicated that Mr Simmonsen seemed to be "very well informed".

Mr Martin Brennan, the civil servant who chaired the assessment team, said that conclusion could be drawn from the note. He said information as to how the assessment was proceeding had not been given to the applicants.