A Supreme Court judge has said it will be a “disgrace to the nation and the State” if it is proven that there was corruption at the highest level of Government in the awarding of a mobile phone licence to Esat Digifone.

The Supreme Court has cleared two unsuccessful bidders for the State’s second mobile phone licence to proceed with a legal challenge to the manner in which the licence was allocated in 1995 to Esat.

Seventeen years after it was awarded, the second mobile phone licence, the most lucrative ever awarded by the State, is still embroiled in controversy, as competitors for the licence get their day in court, writes Michael Clifford

PEACE has seemingly broken out between the leading shareholders in Independent News & Media (INM), with Denis O’Brien welcoming the prospect of Gavin O’Reilly becoming the new chief executive of the group and hailing yesterday’s wide-reaching board change proposals as “the beginning of a new era” at INM.

A TELECOMS tycoon, who used €1 million of his fortune to found a charity, has appealed to the people of his home county for help building or repairing 3,000 homes in poverty-stricken Haiti.

A NEW Irish charity is aiming to build or repair 3,000 homes in poverty-stricken Haiti over the next three years thanks to a €1 million kickstart from its founder.

BILLIONAIRE businessman Denis O’Brien said yesterday he was fully aware from his own experience of the thin line between success and failure in business.

Mobile phone company Digicel is thriving in the Caribbean and is eyeing further expansion, reports Ian Guider in Port of Spain.

ONE of Ireland’s leading online recruitment companies, IrishJobs.ie, has expanded into the niche recruitment sector with the acquisition of Dublin-based rival, Jobs.ie, for an estimated €3m.

BANK OF IRELAND has controversially appointed multi-millionaire tax exile Denis O’Brien as its new deputy chairman.

PROFITS at an aircraft leasing firm owned by the businessman Denis O’Brien more than halved in 2003, according to accounts just filed at the Companies Registration Office.

THREE Irish banks that promised financial support if Denis O’Brien’s Esat Digifone won the country’s second mobile phone licence expressed their concern at the way financier Dermot Desmond came on board, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

NORWEGIAN executive Hans Myhre told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday he was “shocked and upset” to discover his signature on a cheque linked to a £4,000 (5,078) donation to Fine Gael.

Ulster Bank has said that it has bought Easycash, the company that provides cash machines in retail outlets, for an undisclosed sum.

Aer Rianta is offering free wireless internet access at Dublin, Shannon and Cork airports until the end of June to coincide with the Irish EU presidency.

Four new non-executive directors have been appointed to the board of Ulster Bank.

MILLIONAIRE businessman Denis O’Brien told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday his Esat Digifone consortium won the competition for the second mobile phone licence in 1995 because it was the best bid.

FOUR days before Esat Digifone got the licence to run the country’s second mobile phone network, businessman Denis O’Brien threatened legal action against financier Dermot Desmond, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

FORMER Fine Gael minister Sean Barrett told the Moriarty Tribunal yesterday he considered businessman David Austin, who handled a controversial $50,000 Telenor/Esat Telecom donation to the party, to be an honest man.

FEARLESS in business and hungry for a challenge, Denis O’Brien has regularly flirted with disaster.

DERMOT DESMOND has failed in his High Court bid to restrain the Moriarty Tribunal from allowing reference to the 10-year-old Glackin Report, critical of his part in the purchase of the former Johnson Mooney and O’Brien site in Ballsbridge, Dublin.

FORMER Communications Minister Michael Lowry announced that Esat Digifone had won the GSM2 licence competition two days after civil servants had been given a further week to finalise their evaluation report, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

A SENIOR civil servant who headed the project team that vetted applicants for the country’s second mobile telephone licence could shed no light for the tribunal yesterday on how an executive linked to Esat Digifone’s successful bid received a copy of top-level EU correspondence.

TWO senior civil servants had reservations about Esat Telecom’s approach to regulations governing the telecom sector, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

A COMPANY headed by multi-millionaire businessman Denis O’Brien, who netted over £230m following the sale of the State’s second mobile phone company, did not even have enough cash to pay its share of the licence fee, the Moriarty Tribunal was told yesterday.

The Moriarty tribunal will hear more details from the opening statement in this phase of the inquiry when it resumes in Dublin castle this morning.

A £4,000 cheque to be used for expenses connected with Esat Digifone’s bid for the second GSM mobile licence ended up as a political donation to Fine Gael, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

The Moriarty Tribunal resumes in Dublin Castle at 11am today.

Esat Telecom said that it will not pull out of its Irish operations, despite its recently announced losses of €40m.

Donegal company Iontas has formed a partnership with US workforce management solutions supplier Pipkins.

Shareholders of British Telecommunications, which last year bought Esat Telecom, have voted for the demerger of the company's mobile unit.

The former boss of ESAT Telecom, Denis O’Brien, is to appear before the special Dail Committee that is investigating the rail-signalling project.

Former Esat chief executive Barry Maloney has been accused at the Moriarty Tribunal of delaying the floatation of the company in order to maximise his own shareholding.

The Moriarty Tribunal has heard that ex-Esat boss Denis O'Brien felt he was being blackmailed by his former friend, Barry Maloney.

Fresh evidence of financial dealings between former minister Michael Lowry and businessman Denis O'Brien have been revealed at the Moriarty Tribunal.

Eircom today confirmed it had received an approach from a consortium led by media magnate Tony O’Reilly.

Labour has called on Fianna Fail and the PDs to return a £50,000 donation each party received from Esat Telecom chairman Denis O'Brien.