Denis O'Brien has denied making comments attributed to him in a note that was given to the Tribunal in recent days. The businessman told the Moriarty Tribunal that he could not have made certain comments attributed to him, in an undated hand-written note, made by the former Chief Executive of Esat Digifone, Barry Maloney. The note forms part of documents that were given to the Tribunal.
Denis O'Brien said that he questioned how it was that these notes had been mislaid until now and had only come to the Tribunal after seven to eight days of his evidence. Mr Justice Moriarty agreed that it was less than satisfactory that the witness had been "hit" with the material at this late stage.
Mr Maloney said that this note and others were records of meetings and conversations that he made in 1997, at a time when he began to be concerned about a possible intention on the part of Denis O'Brien to pay Michael Lowry £100,000. He has told the Tribunal that he only recently came across them in his home.
Counsel for the Tribunal said that Mr O'Brien was entitled to ask questions and that they would ask Mr Maloney questions on his behalf. Mr O'Brien has questioned the fact that some of these notes are undated and comments are not attributed. He referred to some of the comments, purporting to come from him, as "fairyland stuff".
The notes make a further mention of a "middleman" or "intermediary" who Barry Maloney said Denis O'Brien told him had become involved in the intended payment to Mr Lowry. Other notes refer to conversations between the Norwegian company, Telenor, and Mr Maloney. They appear to suggest that, in Denis O'Brien's words, the two companies were "trying to hatch a plan to float Esat Digifone".
Mr O'Brien told the Tribunal that the planned flotation of Esat Telecom, one of Esat Digifone's major shareholders, would have ruled out any possibility of floating Esat Digifone at that time. Mr O'Brien has, in previous evidence, questioned Mr Maloney's motivation in raising concerns that he had with the board of Esat Telecom just prior to their floatation in 1997.
John Coughlan, SC for the Tribunal, pointed out that it was Barry Maloney who had first brought all these matters to the attention of the Tribunal. He said that he was making this comment in order to protect everyone's position at the moment.
