Mr Ray Burke, as minister for communications in 1989, radically reduced transmission charges to be paid by Century Radio to RTE, the Flood tribunal was told yesterday. This was a "change of heart" from his position a month earlier, it was stated.
Department of Communications documents contained nothing which could explain the reason the minister changed his decision, the tribunal heard.
Mr Michael Grant, an assistant secretary in the Department in 1989, was referred to a letter dated February 16th, 1989, from Mr Burke to the chairman of the Independent Radio and Television Commission (IRTC), Mr Justice Seamus Henchy.
In the letter, Mr Burke referred to transmission charges to be paid by Century Radio to RTE which had originally been £692,000 and which, with agreement from RTE, had been reduced to £614,000. This figure, Mr Burke had stated, was "not unreasonable".
Ms Patricia Dillon SC, for the tribunal, then drew attention to the minister's directive of March 14th, 1989, which set the transmission charge at £375,000.
Mr Grant said that he could not see why the minister made such a radical decrease. The minister had to take his own decision. He would have had Century's case before him and the Department's figures from RTE.
Ms Dillon said: "In his letter of February 16th he said the RTE charges were not unreasonable and now when he issued the directive, he came to an entirely different conclusion."
Mr Grant said: "I think only the minister can explain the change of heart."
Ms Dillon stated: "There is nothing in the documents to explain the change of heart."
Later, Ms Dillon referred to a meeting in December 1989 in Mr Burke's office which was attended by the minister, Mr Oliver Barry, Mr James Stafford of Century Radio and three Bank of Ireland officials.
According to Bank of Ireland minutes of the meeting and evidence given, there was no civil servant present. She asked what Mr Grant's reaction to that had been. Mr Grant said the first he heard of this was when he read about it in the newspapers in relation to the tribunal.
"I think I would have to use the word `amazed'. My amazement was that the minister met bankers and their client in this format. I don't think that I would have had problems with the minister meeting them if civil servants were present but I'm just amazed that the minister had done this," Mr Grant said.
"If I had been asked to advise him at the time, which I was not, I would have said `I don't think it appropriate'," Mr Grant stated.
At the meeting the minister confirmed the Government's commitment to Century and the independent radio sector and said he would eliminate the excesses by RTE. The minutes indicated that Mr Burke gave an assurance to the bank officials that legislation would be brought in by the following Easter.
Mr Grant said this reminded him of a controversy during the 1980s about ministers giving letters of comfort to semi-state bodies. There was an investigation and a circular was sent to Departments stating that such letters or assurances should not be given.
Ms Dillon said in the end the Broadcasting Bill 1990, which included capping RTE advertising, was a flop. Mr Grant agreed and said there was a change in legislation in 1993 restoring the situation to pre-1990.