The former minister Ray Burke has told the Flood Tribunal he did not benefit from nominating bankers and advisers to the IRTC. Mr Burke said that it was case of "simple networking". The Tribunal heard how Mr Burke asked a commission member, Donal O'Sullivan, to propose his own bank, the Ulster Bank Dublin Airport branch, to hold the IRTC account. He said that he was just directing business towards a constituent. When asked why he asked Mr O'Sullivan to propose the advisers he said that Mr O'Sullivan would have been the most political of the members of the IRTC.
Earlier, the Tribunal heard that Ray McSharry warned Mr Burke in 1987 that the introduction of an independent national radio station would have an adverse effect on RTÉ's revenue. Mr McSharry, who was Minister for Finance, said that the move could have forced RTÉ to seek a licence fee increase. He also said that the public might have regarded any increase as helping private stations to make a profit.
Today, Mr Burke described Mr McSharry's comments as theoretical because RTÉ never actually sought a licence fee increase. He said that they were now fighting a major battle on the airwaves for an increase, having not had one since 1986. Mr Burke is being examined about decisions he made in the run up to the introduction of independent broadcasting. Mr Burke is insisting that the decisions were correct because of the current success of commercial stations.
However, counsel for the Tribunal has said that the Tribunal must examine his decisions as taken at the time and not the eventual result of them. Mr Burke said that he disagreed and that policy decisions taken at the time were proven to be correct.
