Pulse FM, the unsuccessful applicant for a Dublin radio licence, is to appeal to the Supreme Court an order that it lodge £100,000 (€127,000) in the High Court if it wants to have a judicial review of a decision by the Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC).
Mr Paul McGuinness, manager of U2, is the main backer of Pulse and is understood to be strongly opposed to the High Court order made on Monday.
Pulse is seeking a judicial review of the decision by the IRTC to grant a youth-oriented licence for the Dublin area to Spin FM, a consortium involving Mr Denis O'Brien, who has other radio interests.
The High Court has ordered one indemnity to cover the IRTC for £50,000 and a second for the same amount to cover Spin FM.
Another unsuccessful applicant, Storm FM, has been told it must lodge £50,000 to cover legal costs if it wishes to persist with its application against the IRTC. The nightclub owner, Mr John Reynolds, is part of this consortium as is Thomas Crosbie Holdings, band manager Mr Louis Walsh and U2's The Edge. A consortium spokesman said it would be making the lodgement.
It is understood the court ordered the lodgement of the indemnities because the two unsuccessful applicants were essentially companies formed for the purpose of seeking the licence and were without substantial assets. The hearing is scheduled for May 2nd.
The objections of the unsuccessful applicants centre on the issue of cross-ownership. Mr O'Brien, through his company Radio 2000, has a 25 per cent stake in Spin FM while also controlling 98 FM. The unsuccessful applicants are understood to have concerns as to how this fact sits with the stated criteria given by the IRTC when applications were first invited.
Storm FM has also alleged that Mr Colum Kenny, a member of the IRTC, made an approach to the Garda drugs squad to inquire about Mr Reynolds. Mr Reynolds is stated to have first learned of this from newspaper reports.
The unsuccessful applicants have argued that requests to the IRTC that it explain how its decision was made have not resulted in satisfactory explanations.
