Denis O’Brien’s Esat consortium were best prepared, said lawyer

BUSINESSMAN Denis O’Brien’s lawyer yesterday challenged groups who failed to win the ’s second mobile phone licence “to put up or shut up”.

It was time they came gave evidence that justified a finding that the process was flawed instead of whingeing over Mr O'Brien's success, Eoin McGonigal told the Moriarty Tribunal.

By winning the licence, in partnership with Norwegian telecoms group Telenor, Esat had "wiped the floor" with some major global firms.

"It will be seen eventually," Mr McGonigal said, "that there was nothing wrong in what this partnership did, but in beating the major corporations of the world and what might be seen as favourites, it was typically Irish."

Mr O'Brien asserted in the strongest possible way that Esat Digifone won the right to negotiate and subsequently the grant of the licence legally, fairly and properly, said counsel.

"Equally, Mr O'Brien will assert that he did not have at any time or take advantage of any confidential or insider information in relation to this process, either during the course of winning the right to negotiate or subsequently during the grant of the licence." Later, senior civil servant Martin Brennan, who headed the team which evaluated the consortia that sought the licence, told Mr Justice Michael Moriarty "I am quite comfortable that the end evaluation produced the best applicant". Mr McGonigal said that since the "minnow" Esat Digifone won the right to negotiate the licence over seven years ago, there had been rumour and innuendo circulating throughout the island and the business community that there was something wrong in the way Esat won and were awarded the licence.

It is time for those consortia who have ultimately taken the slow process and issued proceedings, to bring forward any material, any evidence, they think justifies a finding that the process was in some way flawed, he added.

"Let them put up or shut up. The time for them has come to stop sitting in the background but to come forward and present any material that they have. I don't believe they do have any," said Mr McGonigal.

Esat won because they were best prepared, had the most planning applications for sites, their advertising was the best advanced and they had the ability to get the phone system in place better than anyone else. Ultimately, they got the best marks.

Mr McGonigal said there was "no way" former Communications Minister Michael Lowry could have influenced the licence process, which was conducted by civil servants an organisation that had steadfastly served the interests of the nation since the foundation of the State.