O'Brien goes before Moriarty again today

Former Esat boss, Denis O’Brien is to appear before the Moriarty Tribunal again today to answer another series of questions about an alleged payment to former Minister, Michael Lowry.

Mr O’Brien says that he was aware that Mr Lowry’s business was in trouble and he had considered helping him out but he had never made any payments to him.

However, a former colleague of Mr O’Brien's, Barry Moloney, maintains that O’Brien told him he had paid £100,000 to Lowry.

Mr O’Brien said yesterday that he was joking when he mentioned the sum to Mr Moloney.

The Tribunal is trying to establish how money that was supposed to pay for Mr O’Brien’s house in Spain allegedly found its way into a Michael Lowry account.