Tribunal stays quiet on new Lowry evidence

The Moriarty Tribunal has said it cannot comment on what it will do with a large amount of new evidence received on the involvement of Michael Lowry in English property deals.

Mr Justice Michael Moriarty has delivered his final report but the tribunal is, technically, still in existence finalising background work.

It was recently supplied with a taped telephone conversation between Mr Lowry and land agent Kevin Phelan in which the North Tipperary TD contradicts evidence he supplied to the tribunal in 2007 via his solicitor.

Prior to that, Senator Diarmuid Wilson submitted what he said were records relating to a number of meetings — attended by Mr Lowry — which discussed the Doncaster Rovers project.

The records had not been made available to the tribunal during its inquiries.

The tribunal, currently assessing the costs it will award each of the people involved in it, said it would not comment on what it will do with the fresh information or any other evidence that may be supplied.

This includes Mr Lowry’s confirmation of an additional payment he made to the land agent who sourced the development project in Wigan for him and his partner. The same residual land in Wigan is currently the subject of a Standards in Public Office investigation.

Pressure is growing on Mr Lowry to make a statement and explain the context for the taped conversation, published in the Sunday Independent.

Sinn Féin TD Pádraig Mac Lochlainn said there had been an apparent contradiction in the evidence Mr Lowry supplied to the Moriarty Tribunal and what he said in the statement he issued in response to the report.

“Deputy Lowry should make a clarifying statement on this issue at the earliest opportunity,” Mr Mac Lochlainn said.

One of the newly emerged contradictions is the assertion by Mr Lowry that the £200,000 payment to Mr Phelan, which he referred to in the telephone conversation, was recorded in the books of his Irish company, Garuda Ltd.

Mr Lowry said the transaction was tax compliant and recorded in Garuda’s accounts. During the period in question his co-director at Garuda was Patrick Lowry of The Green, Holycross.

Patrick Lowry did not comment when contacted yesterday.

Michael Lowry has been in the Middle East for a number of days and did not return calls.

A detailed list of questions, on the contradictions between his statement on Sunday and his tribunal evidence, was emailed to him but he did not respond.

Meanwhile, it has emerged a typed transcript of the taped conversation involving Mr Lowry and Mr Phelan was passed in political circles in recent weeks.

Fine Gael’s Eoghan Murphy said he received a copy but it did not come with audio or reference material to allow him confirm its authenticity.