Gay Byrne is just one of several high-profile witnesses listed to give evidence to the tribunal when it resumes in September. Mr Byrne's appearance in Dublin Castle looks set to coincide with his return to television as the presenter of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
By a curious irony, the tribunal heard this week that Mr Byrne turned down an offer of £1 million to join Century Radio at its inception in 1988. The station's co-founder, Mr Oliver Barry, brought the money in the form of a bank draft to the broadcaster's home in Howth on a Saturday before Christmas, but Mr Byrne opted to stay with RTE.
Mr Byrne is one of 46 names which appear on an expanded list of witnesses the tribunal intends to call regarding its investigations into the payment by Mr Barry of £35,000 in cash to the then minister for communications, Mr Ray Burke, in May 1989.
The 10 members of the Independent Radio and Television Commission, which awarded Century the national commercial radio franchise in 1989, will be required to give evidence.
This includes the chairman, Mr Justice Seamus Henchy, and Judge Liam Devally, a former broadcaster. The then secretary of the IRTC, Mr Sean Connolly, and the present chief executive, Mr Michael O'Keeffe, are also listed, as are Mr John Mulhern, son-in-law of the then Taoiseach, Mr Charles Haughey, and a secret investor in Century; former Government press secretary Mr P.J. Mara; and financier Mr Dermot Desmond. They are being called in relation to allegations that Century owed money to Mr Mara.
Further witnesses include executives of RTE and Century, officials of the Department of Communications as well as solicitors and accountants involved in the dealings between Century and other parties.
Mr Justice Flood saw fit yesterday to adjourn before lunchtime. Legal holidays mean there are no hearings until late September.
After a week in the witness box, Century co-founder Mr James Stafford is nowhere near finishing his direct evidence, never mind his cross-examination. At this rate, and considering the number of parties involved and the length of the witness list, the Century hearings could start to rival in length the investigation of Mr James Gogarty's allegations.
Mr Justice Flood yesterday ruled that Mr Stafford may be questioned about his controversial allegations that Mr Burke and the former government press secretary, Mr Mara, sought money in return for awarding radio licences. Mr Burke's lawyers had claimed the allegations were "hearsay quadrupled" and should not be aired in public.
The chairman ruled that they were relevant to his investigations but adjourned questioning until the autumn.
There were further indications yesterday of the lengths Mr Burke is said to have been prepared to go to in order to facilitate Century. In 1990, in response to the station's deepening financial difficulties, he gave assurances that Mr Stafford and Mr Barry would be given approval to reduce their shareholding below 51 per cent, according to minutes recorded by Century's bankers.
This would allow the station to bring on board new investment to stay afloat. Mr Stafford said there was "some misunderstanding" and the note was incorrect. This was entirely a matter for the IRTC to consider.
Mr Burke also floated a proposal to divert some of RTE's licence fee income to commercial stations. This was later withdrawn after a political row. The witness said he knew nothing about this proposal, which did not come from Century.
However, his Bill to cap RTE's revenue from advertising became law in July 1990. The following day, Capital Radio of London invested in Century. You might have thought Mr Stafford would have been happy with this legislation, even if it didn't stave off Century's eventual demise. Instead, his conclusion - along with everyone else's - was that it was "badly thought-out" and "a right mess". He accused RTE of defying the minister's intentions by exceeding the cap. But if it was a mess, it was one "not of my making", he insisted.
It was Mr Burke's successor as minister for communications, Mr Seamus Brennan, who laid bare the consequences of the cap when he moved to abolish it in October 1991. Because of the legislation, independent stations were losing money, TV3 had not been established and RTE's advertising costs increased by 30 per cent.