The High Court has rejected Denis O’Brien’s attempt to prevent the Moriarty Tribunal from holding public hearings into the possible involvement of Michael Lowry in the purchase of Doncaster Rovers Football Club.
Mr O’Brien, who had been chairman of Esat Digifone when it secured the State’s second mobile phone licence, challenged the tribunal’s May 2004 decision to investigate the Doncaster transaction publicly.
His case rested on two main arguments. First, he said the tribunal’s terms of reference could not extend to a transaction which occurred after the tribunal was established in September 1997. Secondly, he argued that the information available was too weak to justify a public inquiry into Mr Lowry’s alleged involvement.
Mr Justice Abbott rejected both grounds.
On the first issue, the judge agreed that the tribunal could not simply supervise future dealings indefinitely or inquire into transactions whose origins lay entirely after its establishment. However, he held that it could examine a later transaction if it potentially represented a benefit or payoff connected with an earlier matter already within its terms of reference.
The court found that the Doncaster transaction arose in a context overlapping with other property transactions already investigated by the tribunal, including common professional personnel and business associates. On that basis, the judge held that the tribunal was entitled to proceed.
On the second issue, Mr O’Brien disputed the reliability of material relied upon by the tribunal, including a 1995 letter concerning Mr Lowry’s alleged involvement. The court stressed, however, that the tribunal was not at this stage required to possess courtroom-quality proof. The relevant question was whether there was enough information to warrant further public inquiry.
Mr Justice Abbott found that threshold had been met. He also said procedural rights, including the ability to challenge adverse evidence, would be available during the public hearings.
The judicial review application was therefore refused, leaving the tribunal free to proceed with its public examination of the Doncaster Rovers issue.