The businessman Denis O'Brien has accused the Moriarty Tribunal of putting "one and one together and getting twenty". His comments came during heated exchanges as Tribunal lawyers asked him about the financial details behind his purchase of a house in Marbella in Spain. Mr Justice Moriarty dismissed objections from Mr O'Brien's lawyers that the line of questioning was strongly unfair and oppressive. Denis O'Brien accused Mr John Coughlan SC for the Tribunal of "playing to the gallery". The judge asked Mr O'Brien to keep the histrionic element out of his evidence.
Earlier, Mr O'Brien said that he wrote to the Tribunal following a report by RTÉ's Chief News Correspondent, Charlie Bird. Mr Bird said in the report that the former Fine Gael Minister, Michael Lowry, would face further tough questions about a loan of £150,000 placed in an offshore account by the late David Austin.
Mr O'Brien bought a house in Spain from the late David Austin in 1996. Mr Austin transferred the bulk of the money to an account in the Isle of Man which belonged to Mr Lowry. Asked why he made a connection between Charlie Bird's report and the purchase of the house, Mr O'Brien said that he knew nothing of the loan, but that he knew that he owned a house worth £150,000 which he had bought from Mr Austin.
The Tribunal heard that RTÉ was contacted by the Tribunal at the time, in advance of Charlie Bird's report being broadcast, because it might reveal delicate information into the public arena. RTÉ had agreed not to run the story on its 6.01 News, but provided the Tribunal with a transcript of the report in question and broadcast the report at 9.00pm that evening.
Counsel for Denis O'Brien, Ian McGonaigle, told the Chairman earlier that he felt some of yesterday's questioning of his client was inquisitorial, bordering on adversarial. However, Mr Justice Moriarty ruled that he did not feel that the line of questioning taken by counsel for the Tribunal, John Coughlan, was wrong, inappropriate or discourteous. Mr O'Brien had been questioned about his account of comments he made in 1996 to the then Chief Executive of Esat Digifone that he had paid Michael Lowry £100,000.
