CONOR KANE
Former Fine Gael minister Michael Lowry wants the tax case mounted against him to be investigated by the DPP because of three State agencies being allegedly "wilfully misled", which his lawyer says is an offence against the administration of justice.
Further submissions seeking to have charges against the Independent TD struck out have been made in court by his senior counsel, Patrick Treacy.
Mr Lowry (60) of Glenreigh, Holycross, Co Tipperary, is charged with four counts of knowingly filing incorrect tax returns on October 31st, 2003, and on August 3rd, 2007. A further count of an alleged breach of the 1990 Companies Act was preferred against him last Friday. He was in court for yesterday’s hearing.
Resumption
Mr Treacy argued yesterday at Clonmel Circuit Court, in a resumption of legal submissions started in July and which continued in October in Nenagh, that the case against his client be struck out or permanently stayed on the grounds of insufficient evidence; wrongful exposure of taxpayer information to the public; pre-trial publicity; abuse of process; no outstanding tax liability on Mr Lowry’s part; and an alleged offence against the administration of justice.
The defence senior counsel said that, since the case last came before Judge Thomas Teehan in October, further information had come to light and Mr Lowry now wants the "entire file" on the case to be referred to the DPP for investigation, in the event of the prosecution being struck out or stayed.
“There was a fundamental obstruction of the administration of justice,” Mr Treacy said.
An initial complaint was made to the Criminal Assets Bureau against Michael Lowry in February of 2013 by academic and author Dr Elaine Byrne, prior to the start of a succession of articles in the Sunday Independent about Mr Lowry and a recording of a purported telephone call between the TD and land agent Kevin Phelan.
Mr Phelan was in a “contractual agreement”, he said, to provide information to London-based company Pavilion Capital Partners. This company “provides litigation funds”, Mr Treacy said last month in Nenagh, specifically to two consortiums engaged in civil proceedings against the Irish State in relation to to the awarding of the second mobile phone licence in 1995.
Letter
There was no disclosure, he said yesterday, by Dr Byrne or the
Sunday Independent
to the Criminal Assets Bureau of Mr Phelan’s involvement with Pavilion Capital, or that Mr Phelan had written a letter seen by the
Sunday Independent
’s editor,
Anne Harris
, and solicitor Simon McAleese, warning them that they couldn’t use the tape recording and that he “couldn’t stand over it”.
Referring to Pavilion Finance, Mr Treacy told the court that, when Ms Byrne “presented herself” to the CAB, “the Criminal Assets Bureau were never told that there is this overlord in England” controlling matters with “legal and financial power”.
“Three State authorities, the Criminal Assets Bureau, the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Revenue Commissioners, have all been profoundly and wilfully misled in this prosecution.”
In response, Remy Farrell, prosecuting, said the recordings known as “the Lowry tapes” are not part of the State’s evidence and that Mr Phelan is not a witness.
It was "inarguable" that the matters dealt with in the Sunday Independent articles were of "legitimate public interest", Mr Farrell said.
In his closing remarks, Mr Treacy described the case as “a show trial” against Mr Lowry. He said his client was “ an easy target”.
Judge Thomas Teehan will rule on the submissions on December 5th.