Parties to discuss Moriarty report

THE LEADERS of all five political parties in the Dáil will meet on Wednesday to ascertain if a joint approach can be adopted on how the final report of the Moriarty Tribunal should be published.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen will meet Enda Kenny of Fine Gael; Eamon Gilmore of Labour; John Gormley of the Greens; and Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin of Sinn Féin in Government Buildings on Wednesday.

The meeting has been arranged to respond to the letter sent by the tribunal chairman Mr Justice Michael Moriarty to the Clerk of the Dáil last week.

In the letter, Mr Justice Moriarty suggested that the final report be broken into two sections. The first report would relate to the “money trail” involving former minister Michael Lowry. The second report, to be published later, would revolve around the investigation into the awarding of the mobile phone licence to a consortium headed by businessman Denis O’Brien.

The suggestion to split the report was made because of what Mr Justice Moriarty described as “an element of further delay”. This has been necessitated by the recent decision of the Danish telecoms consultant Michael Andersen, who assessed the competing bids, to give evidence.

Both Fine Gael and Labour have indicated that they have little enthusiasm for a situation where the final report is split into two parts on the basis that both reports are inter-related.

There are indications, too, that this view is shared by the leaders of the two Government departments.

The tribunal was established in 1997 to investigate payments made to the former taosieach, the late Charles Haughey; and to Mr Lowry. The tribunal has been subject to increasing criticism over its length, its costs, and the purpose of its more recent investigations.

The tribunal has admitted a number of errors in recent months and has withdrawn negative findings made in a draft report.