The Flood Tribunal has heard the IRTC did not seek independent advice on transmission charges before granting Century Radio the national radio licence. The Tribunal is questioning former IRTC member Fred O’Donovan on the reasons behind Century's selection. RTÉ's charge for transmission services was a key issue when the IRTC was considering applicants for the first independent national radio station. Fred O'Donovan said that he believed Century had engaged experts in England to advise on the price and he took that into account.
However, he now accepts that it has emerged in evidence that those experts did not give a detailed break down of the figures. The IRTC did not seek and independent view. Mr O’Donovan, who is also a former chairman of the RTÉ Authority, said that he believed the initial RTÉ charges of over a million pounds were ridiculous and excessive. He said that he knew where RTÉ was coming from and he believed they were trying to make a large profit out of the venture. Mr O’Donovan was the third of ten members of the IRTC to be questioned by the Tribunal.
He was followed by Labour Relations Commission Chief Executive Kieran Mulvey. Mr Mulvey said that he believed the commission had not been influenced by the fact that Ray Burke had nominated its financial and legal advisers.
