Moriarty Tribunal to get financial expert
Thursday, 13 November 2003 16:40
The Moriarty Tribunal chairman has said that steps are in train to secure independent financial advice for the inquiry, which is investigating the awarding of the State's second phone licence to Esat Digifone in the mid-1990s.
This morning, businessman Denis O'Brien said it would be helpful if someone with real financial expertise could assist the tribunal.
Yesterday, John Coughlan, counsel for the tribunal, spent a considerable amount of time discussing the type and the meaning of the guarantee secured by Mr O'Brien from venture capitalists Advent while he was preparing to bid for the licence.
Earlier, counsel for Mr O'Brien, Eoin McGonigal, said that Mr O'Brien had considered offensive a remark made yesterday by Mr Coughlan that Mr O'Brien was 'under oath' during questioning on the guarantee issue and he asked for the remark to be withdrawn.
He also said he was concerned that the inquiry had moved to an adversarial situation and had moved away from the terms of reference agreed by the Dáil.
