The Moriarty Tribunal has heard that Michael Lowry told the Dáil in November 1995 that there was no undue haste in the announcement of the winner of the State's second mobile phone licence.
Denis O'Brien's Esat Digifone was awarded the licence in October 1995, several weeks ahead of schedule.
During parliamentary questions Mr Lowry, then Minister for Communications, said that in a case as sensitive as this, it was best to end speculation and announce the winner as soon as possible.
He also told the Dáil that the competition process was patently fair and should be used as a model for other such competitions.
Earlier, the consultancy firm which evaluated the bids for the licence told the Tribunal that, despite reservations about the financial weakness of one of Esat Digifone's backers, it was still the best application.
Anderson Management International said the evaluation process was carried out in a professional way.
However it said that due to budget constraints in the Department, further work that the consultancy would normally have carried out was not done. It also said that security by the Department in the competition was surprisingly lax.
