Lowry ordered to pay his own High Court costs

Independent TD Michael Lowry will have to pay his own legal costs after he was added to a court case taken by a company that alleged he took corrupt payments when he was a government minister.

The State and businessman Denis O’Brien, who were also part of the case, were awarded costs following a hearing at the High Court yesterday.

Persona Digital Telephony had claimed Mr O’Brien’s Esat Digifone consortium won a competition for a mobile phone licence in 1996 by bribing the then communications minister, Mr Lowry — which is denied.