Document ‘may have misrepresented bidders gap’

A BRIEFING document prepared for Michael Lowry may have misrepresented the gap between the top two bidders for the country’s second mobile telephone licence, the Moriarty Tribunal heard yesterday.

But civil servant Maeve Nic Lochlainn, who drew up what she called a simplistic guide for the former Minister for Communications, rejected a suggestion that she distorted the facts.

"The fact was that Esat Digifone was better than the A3 (Persona) application and the briefing note says it was better. If there was any misrepresentation in the briefing note, it was simply a misrepresentation of the gap which divided the top two applicants," Ms Nic Loughlin insisted.