I regret allowing Esat press conference, says Loughrey

THE former department secretary general John Loughrey yesterday regretted allowing civil servants hold a press conference in April 1996 to defend their decision to give the second mobile telephone licence to Esat Digifone.

“I have a certain regret now but at the time it seemed almost imperative,” Mr Loughrey told the Moriarty Tribunal.

He agreed the purpose of the press conference was to dampen down speculation over Digifone’s ownership.

Public speculation raged that financier Dermot Desmond was an undisclosed minority shareholder in the Esat Digifone consortium headed by telecom’s newcomer Denis O’Brien.

The retired head of the Department of Communications agreed with tribunal counsel John Coughlan SC that the ownership question was a live issue.

But at that stage, the civil servants decided not to address the ownership topic because they knew they had no agreement that the consortium would revert to its original configuration.

Mr Loughrey said he was determined the consortium should revert to its original configuration if the licence was to be issued.

Since Digifone had won the licence competition, Mr Desmond’s IIU firm acquired a 25% stake in the consortium, reducing those of Mr O’Brien’s Communicorp Group and Norwegian telecom’s firm Telenor from 40% to 37.5% each.

Chairman Mr Justice Michael Moriarty pointed out whatever about word on the streets, the deputies in the Dáil had never sought to criticise the public servants or the nature of the GSM2 licence process.

Further evidence is expected from Mr Loughrey when the tribunal resumes on Tuesday.