Accountant questioned
Department bosses wanted to determine whether all the shareholders backing the project were financially strong enough to set up, run the new GSM2 network and provide their stated level of service to customers.
A particular focus was whether other consortium members could finance Communicorp's share of Digifone's funding requirements in the event of Communicorp not being able to finance its own share.
The exercise also incorporated a third scenario the ability of Norwegian State telecoms firm Telenor to finance the whole project if the other parties ran into financial difficulties.
Project team chairman Martin Brennan requested him to carry out the financial analysis.
Mr Buggy said he accompanied Mr Brennan to meetings with auditor Pearse Farrell and Michael Walsh both associated with financier Dermot Desmond's IIU company.
Mr Buggy undertook the examination between May 13 and 15 1996 and submitted his report to senior department officials. The GSM2 licence was formally awarded on May 16.
Currently, chief financial officer with Independent News & Media PLC, Mr Buggy said he had been assigned to the department's planning unit during a 17-month secondment from PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Questioned by tribunal lawyer John Coughlan SC about his brief, Mr Buggy said he was given a timeframe on May 13 to complete his exercise in a couple of days.
This type of approach would be typical. Mr Buggy is due to continue his evidence today.
