The Moriarty Tribunal has revealed two incidents where it appears that Denis O'Brien's consortium received confidential information related to the 1995 competition for the second mobile phone licence.
The Tribunal has also heard that on two occasions the then Minister for Communications, Michael Lowry, went against the express advice of his Department officials and met businessmen who were bidding in the competition.
At the Curragh in July of 1995, Michael Lowry says he was invited into businessman, Tony O'Reilly's executive box. There he discussed with Dr O'Reilly his consortium's bid for the licence. Dr O'Reilly has denied this happened.
Two months later the Minister met another bidder, Tony Boyle, in a hotel bar in Killiney. The competition and Mr Boyle's bid was allegedly discussed.
These meetings took place despite firm advice from civil servants that the Minister should have no such discussions with anyone who was a participant in the competition.
They believed that Michael Lowry had accepted and fully respected this.
The Tribunal also revealed today that it is examining evidence that Denis O'Brien's Esat Digifone consortium received confidential information relating to the competition.
One such incident relates to a letter sent in 1995 to the Minister, Michael Lowry, from the European Commission.
The letter gave confidential and valuable information regarding the importance that would be attached to the fee to be charged in the competition for the licence.
The Tribunal wants to know where the consortium got the letter.
Members of the consortium have claimed their copy of the letter came from the European Commission and they argue the information was not confidential but the Tribunal disagrees.
Around this time Denis O'Brien told a Fine Gael activist that he having an uphill struggle. He met auctioneer Mark Fitzgerald in the Shelbourne hotel and told him of rumours that Albert Reynolds was in line for a pay-off if Motorola won the competition.
The Tribunal has stressed that it has no basis for thinking that Albert Reynolds acted in any way inappropriately.
