Desmond fails in High Court bid

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.

The businessman had claimed that such repeated references were damaging to his reputation and good name and that the report was irrelevant to the tribunal’s investigation of decisions made in the mid-1990s relating to the award of a second GSM phonelicence to ESAT Digifone.

Mr Justice John Quirke, in a reserved judgment, found that the Glackin Report was relevant to the work of the tribunal and that the sole member, Judge Michael Moriarty, had not breached principals of natural justice or fair procedures in his dealings with Mr Desmond. Judge Quirke said the Glackin Report, published in 1993 after an investigation into ownership of Johnson Mooney and O’Brien property in Ballsbridge, had dealt with some of Mr Desmond’s former business dealings. He said the Glackin Report contained findings critical of Mr Desmond and his apparent association with two companies connected with the purchase of that property.

Mr Desmond’s former business transactions and dealings were and remained relevant as to whether or not he had avoided the evaluation process in the awarding by Michael Lowry of the phone licence to ESAT Digifone, a consortium which included IIU Nominees Ltd, a company beneficially owned by Mr Desmond.

Judge Quirke said a competition for a second GSM licence had been announced in March 1995 and six applications had been received and assessed by an evaluation team established by the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications. In the course of the evaluation process each applicant had been afforded the opportunity to make an oral presentation to the evaluators. During ESAT’s oral presentation it had been asserted it comprised a consortium in which Telenor and ESAT Telecom Ltd each had a 40% interest with the remaining 20% interest divided equally between four financial institutions.

The evaluation team had recommended the licence be awarded to ESAT Digifone and the minister, Michael Lowry, hadannounced the result on October 25, 1995.

From August 8, Mr Desmond had been involved in negotiations with a view to becoming a member of the consortium and formally joined it on September 29 on terms where Telenor and ESAT Telecom’s interests were reduced to 37.5% with Mr Desmond owning the remaining 25% interest.

Judge Quirke said neither the evaluation team nor the department had been notified of the negotiations between August 8, 1995, and September 29, 1995.

Judge Quirke said Mr Desmond’s overriding complaint was that the tribunal had caused or permitted witnesses to be questioned in detail and repeatedly on the contents of the Glackin Report, in consequence of which he had been compromised in his capacity to vindicate hisreputation and his good name.

Mr Justice Quirke said Judge Moriarty was entitled to follow every line of inquiry which fell within his terms of reference until he had either discovered facts which gave rise to concern or alternatively established that the concern voiced was groundless.