The Moriarty Tribunal has heard that the Department of Communications had serious concerns about the ownership of the Esat Digifone consortium in the run up to the formal awarding of the State's second mobile licence.
The Tribunal has received records of a meeting held in May of 1996 where it appears Department officials asked members of the consortium to help them publicly explain why Dermot Desmond's IIU had replaced institutional investors as beneficial owner of 25% of the company.
By this stage Esat had won the competition for the licence and was engaged in negotiations with the Department.
At the time there was media speculation that Dermot Desmond had become involved but Michael Lowry refused to confirm or deny this speculation during sustained questioning in the Dáil.
He told the Dáil the Department was satisfied with the ownership and financing of Esat.
However his Department officials were at that time writing to the Attorney General's office looking for legal advice on what appeared to them to be a change in ownership in the consortium.
The Tribunal has also queried why the Department of communications never informed them of this meeting and had not record of it on their files.
One Department official has told the Tribunal that it would be normal to keep a Department note of such a meeting.
