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<span style="font-weight: bold">News Source: OTGNR - </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Confirmed : Digicel head gets sp... ( Reuters )...</span>
An Irish lawmaker and former minister "insidiously" helped a telecoms billionaire secure a mobile phone licence during the 1990s, an inquiry report said on Tuesday. Michael Lowry, an independent MP who held the balance of power in parliament up until last month's election, played a "profoundly reprehensible" role in the award of the licence to Denis O'Brien's Esat Digifone company, the judicial tribunal's report alleged.Lowry was the country's communications minister at the time but was forced to resign after a separate inquiry revealed another tycoon had paid for the renovation of his home.Fine Gael, who returned to power as the senior government party this month, barred him from representing the party in future elections."It is beyond doubt that Mr. Lowry imparted substantive information to Mr. O'Brien, of significant value to him in securing the licence," said the report, which spans over 2,000 pages."Mr. Lowry displayed an appreciable interest in the licence competition, had irregular interactions with interested parties at its most sensitive stages (and) made his preference as between the leading candidates known."The report said O'Brien, who owns more than 20 percent of publishing group Independent News & Media (INM), made or facilitated payments to Lowry of 147,000 in Ireland's old pound currency and 300,000 British pounds.O'Brien said in a statement that the report was fundamentally flawed because it was based on the opinions and theories of one judge and his legal team.Lowry said Justice Michael Moriarty's opinions were not substantiated by evidence or fact and the report was "factually wrong and deliberately misleading."The Moriarty Tribunal, which began investigating payments to politicians 14 years ago and has cost the state tens of millions of euros, shone a light on the corrupt affairs of former prime minister Charles Haughey when it published its first report in 2006.While the report said Lowry's actions were not on the same scale as Haughey's, it said he displayed similar qualities to the man who served three terms as prime minister between 1979 and 1992. "In the cynical and venal abuse of office, the brazen refusal to acknowledge the impropriety of his financial arrangements, Mr. Lowry displayed qualities similar in nature (to Haughey), and has cast a further shadow over this country's public life."A number of tribunals have investigated decades of corruption in Irish public life. Cronyism and a lack of oversight have also been blamed for fuelling Ireland's current financial crisis, which has its roots in reckless property loans.
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Confirmed : Digicel head gets sp... ( Reuters )...</span>
An Irish lawmaker and former minister "insidiously" helped a telecoms billionaire secure a mobile phone licence during the 1990s, an inquiry report said on Tuesday. Michael Lowry, an independent MP who held the balance of power in parliament up until last month's election, played a "profoundly reprehensible" role in the award of the licence to Denis O'Brien's Esat Digifone company, the judicial tribunal's report alleged.Lowry was the country's communications minister at the time but was forced to resign after a separate inquiry revealed another tycoon had paid for the renovation of his home.Fine Gael, who returned to power as the senior government party this month, barred him from representing the party in future elections."It is beyond doubt that Mr. Lowry imparted substantive information to Mr. O'Brien, of significant value to him in securing the licence," said the report, which spans over 2,000 pages."Mr. Lowry displayed an appreciable interest in the licence competition, had irregular interactions with interested parties at its most sensitive stages (and) made his preference as between the leading candidates known."The report said O'Brien, who owns more than 20 percent of publishing group Independent News & Media (INM), made or facilitated payments to Lowry of 147,000 in Ireland's old pound currency and 300,000 British pounds.O'Brien said in a statement that the report was fundamentally flawed because it was based on the opinions and theories of one judge and his legal team.Lowry said Justice Michael Moriarty's opinions were not substantiated by evidence or fact and the report was "factually wrong and deliberately misleading."The Moriarty Tribunal, which began investigating payments to politicians 14 years ago and has cost the state tens of millions of euros, shone a light on the corrupt affairs of former prime minister Charles Haughey when it published its first report in 2006.While the report said Lowry's actions were not on the same scale as Haughey's, it said he displayed similar qualities to the man who served three terms as prime minister between 1979 and 1992. "In the cynical and venal abuse of office, the brazen refusal to acknowledge the impropriety of his financial arrangements, Mr. Lowry displayed qualities similar in nature (to Haughey), and has cast a further shadow over this country's public life."A number of tribunals have investigated decades of corruption in Irish public life. Cronyism and a lack of oversight have also been blamed for fuelling Ireland's current financial crisis, which has its roots in reckless property loans.