Meetings between Mr Ray Burke and Mr Dermot Desmond took place regularly in the late 1980s about any number of things, but the businessman said yesterday he never spoke to the then minister about radio licences.
Mr Pat Hanratty SC, for the tribunal, asked if he had had any occasion to meet Mr Burke in the first half of 1989, when Mr Burke was minister for communications and also for arts, culture and the Gaeltacht.
"I couldn't tell you," Mr Desmond said.
Mr Hanratty said it appeared from a Department of Communications diary the tribunal had seen that Mr Desmond had had a meeting with Mr Burke on March 9th, 1989. Mr Desmond said he had no recollection of a particular meeting: "I could have spoken to him on any number of things. I think I was on the board of Aer Rianta at the time. We could have spoken about Ryanair, Aer Lingus, a number of issues pertaining to them," he said.
Asked if he had spoken to the minister on official business to do with communications, Mr Desmond said: "No, I've never discussed anything with him about a radio licence, or an application for a radio licence or with any official of any kind."
He said he could have had several meetings with Mr Burke as he met him "several times in his office, as I did other ministers on a regular basis".
Mr Hanratty asked: "What about?" Mr Desmond replied: "I haven't an earthly."
Mr Gerard Hogan SC, for Mr Desmond, during cross-examination, said that Mr Burke was also, from December 1988, the minister for industry and commerce. Could that assist in why Mr Desmond may have had a meeting with him in March 1989?
Mr Desmond said he could have talked to Mr Burke about lots of matters, company law, the stock exchange, but "I never talked to him about a radio licence, or an application for a radio licence for myself or anybody else." Mr Hanratty said Mr James Stafford, Century director, had given evidence that in September 1990, at Mr Conor Haughey's wedding at Kinsealy, Mr Desmond had said Century owed Mr P.J. Mara £30,000 and Mr Stafford had said that if Mr Desmond raised it again he would talk to Mr Haughey.
Mr Desmond said: "I didn't have it [the conversation] as far as I'm concerned. I'd be very surprised if I didn't remember it, because if Mr Stafford said he would talk to Mr Haughey, if I'd heard such a juvenile comment, I would have retained it. The remark would have registered.
"I don't remember Mr Stafford being at the wedding," he said.
Earlier, Mr Desmond was asked why he had not contacted Mr Laurence Crowley, chairman of Century, whom he knew well, to request a position for Mr P.J. Mara at Century.
Mr Desmond said he was not securing a position for Mr Mara. His understanding was that Mr Crowley was a non-executive chairman. He never even thought of going to Mr Crowley.