What have the report findings got us so far?
A state tribunal, established by the Oireachtas, found that Michael Lowry improperly helped Denis O’Brien win the second mobile phone licence, and that the TD benefited financially in return.
They are findings so damning that they should make it impossible for Mr Lowry to continue in parliament.
But Mr Lowry is not going to resign — he has made clear that he will never accept the findings of the tribunal, and will therefore brazen it out.
“I wish to advise that I have no intention of resigning my position as a democratically elected representative of this House,” he told the Dáil. “I will not walk away from the overwhelming mandate that was given to me by the constituents of North Tipperary…
“I am proud to serve them. I have performed my role as elected representative of the people of North Tipperary to the very best of my ability. I will continue to do so until they decide otherwise.”
And neither the Government nor the opposition, it seems, will be able to do a thing about it.
Today, both sides of the House will unite to pass a motion of censure against Mr Lowry. That motion will call on Mr Lowry to resign. But if he does not go voluntarily, neither the Government nor the opposition will be able to force him out.
Mr Lowry will, however, take a break. “I intend to take a short time to myself to rest my mind, heal my body and renew my spirit,” he told the Dáil.
Just last year, there were mutterings on both sides of the House about the workings of the tribunal itself.
It came after the chairman of the tribunal, Mr Justice Michael Moriarty, admitted that the inquiry had made two “not insignificant” errors in its work.
Mr Justice Moriarty said at the time that the errors would simply have to be “taken on the chin and acknowledged”.
Nobody in the main parties raised any questions about the tribunal’s work during this week’s two-day debate.
Instead, there was praise for Mr Justice Moriarty and condemnation for Mr Lowry.
Politicians merely accepted the tribunal report, because they knew there would be nothing to be gained from any suggestion they were somehow siding with Mr Lowry. There’s safety in numbers.
One of odd things about the report, however, is that Taoiseach Enda Kenny has not actually stated he accepts its conclusions.
He has said Moriarty is a very serious report that reeks of “fanatical greed”, “obsessive attachment to power”, and “breathtaking attempts to acquire, use and access privilege”.
He has said the inquiry found “seriously and serially” against Mr Lowry and others.
He has tasked his ministers with examining the recommendations in the report and recommending which of them should be implemented.
He has referred the report to the DPP, Garda and Revenue Commissioners.
By doing so he has given the impression that he concurs with everything in the report.
But he has never actually said as much.
The reason seems fairly obvious. A number of legal actions are pending in relation to the manner in which the second mobile phone licence was awarded. Some of the unsuccessful bidders want compensation or, at the very least, reimbursement of the costs they incurred in contesting the licence.
Were either to occur, the bill would almost certainly fall to the state. And so Mr Kenny, as head of Government, is not saying his administration agrees with the conclusions of the report. Not until there is some clarity about the legal actions.
Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte perhaps best summed up the necessity for this caution.
“I must also at this juncture refer deputies to the fact that two of the unsuccessful consortia in the second mobile phone competition issued proceedings against the state in 2001,” he said.
“In 2007, pursuant to an application by the state, these proceedings were struck out by the High Court for want of prosecution on the grounds of delay. These matters are under appeal by the unsuccessful bidders to the Supreme Court. I am advised that these appeals are likely to be heard in the not too distant future.
“Therefore deputies will understand my ability to comment in this debate on the GSM 2 award process is of necessity somewhat restricted. I would, however, place it on the record of the House that the report made no finding that the result of the second mobile phone competition was incorrect.”
In other words, the Government of the day was not at fault — or at least that’s what this Government is desperate to convey. If a court found otherwise, a rather unpleasant bill could be making its way to the taxpayer.
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