A fifth civil servant has told the Moriarty tribunal that neither he nor to his knowledge any other official was subjected to any pressure or improper influence in coming to their decision in the competition for the second mobile phone licence.
Under cross-examination, Ed O'Callaghan said civil servants did not operate to pressure and would have 'blown the whistle' had pressure been applied in relation to the licence competition.
Mr O'Callaghan reiterated that what appear to be complaints contained in a chronology of events that he wrote up at that time referred to aspects of the final report and not the outcome of the competition.
He rejected suggestions from counsel for the Tribunal that he was embarrassed by the contents of the chronology and for that reason was now giving a version that did not accord with the text of those notes.
He also disagreed that he had had difficulty handing over the notes to the Tribunal.
Mr O'Callaghan said any reticence was because he had always considered the notes to be personal with inelegant English and bad grammar.
The notes refer to the very last days of the competition and contain phrases including 'no consensus asked for, no vote, effectively no decision by project team'.
Matters 'moved very fast' once questions asked
Lawyers for the tribunal put it to Mr O'Callaghan that as soon as civil servants that worked in the regulatory division of the department started asking questions 'matters moved very fast'.
They have suggested that from the moment those civil servants began to look for more time for their deliberations 'all the signs of political involvement' were seen.
Tribunal lawyers referred to notes from meetings at the time, which refer to the minister knowing the result and wanting to get that result announced quickly.
Mr O'Callaghan has accepted that he was annoyed when they were not granted the extra time but he has rejected suggestions of political influence.
Mr O'Callaghan has now concluded his evidence. A sixth civil servant, Sean McMahon, has taken the stand. Like Mr O'Callaghan, Mr McMahon worked in the regulatory division of the department at the time the licence was awarded.
