Sir, – The column written by John McManus (Business, December 23rd) makes for both curious and disturbing reading.
In it he states: “The suggestions that newspapers over which O’Brien has influence are taking part in an orchestrated campaign to undermine the national finances and advance the interests of his friend is not one he would be happy to let go unchallenged. The notion that he (O’Brien) would use his control of the country’s largest media organisation in such a fashion is in no doubt abhorrent to him.”
For the record, Denis O'Brien has had not hand act, or part in the coverage of Nama anywhere at any time. Nor indeed has he been "one of the beneficiaries of . . . largesse from the taxpayer" (Letters, December 18th).
On the issue of who in Nama’s thinking is trying to undermine the State, I recall Mary Lou McDonald TD questioning Frank Daly and Brendan McDonagh, chairman and CEO of Nama respectively, on this particular matter recently. In particular she asked if they thought Paddy McKillen was involved. Mr Daly emphatically denied the suggestion.
To introduce Denis O’Brien’s name into the Nama story has all the hallmarks of someone scurrying around on the Sunday before Christmas looking for a topic, any topic, to write about. It is obviously much easier to speculate, hint and infer that you might have stumbled on a smoking gun. There is no smoke and no gun. The probity of such journalism is questionable.
The professional approach for John McManus to adopt would have been to ask The Sunday Independent directly why it allocated "five pages" to the Nama story. But maybe he would have received a response that would have rubbished the column he was writing? It is possible that the editor of the Sunday Independent decided that the coverage was in the public interest? – Yours, etc,
JAMES MORRISSEY,
Communications adviser to
Denis O’Brien,
Fitzwilliam Quay,
Dublin 4.