The civil servant who chaired the committee that selected the winner of the competition for the State's second mobile-phone licence said he would have noticed if he was getting "improper signals" from the former minister, Mr Michael Lowry.
Mr Martin Brennan was responding to questions from Mr Jerry Healy SC, for the tribunal, concerning his contacts with Mr Lowry during the course of the 1995 competition. Mr Healy put it to Mr Brennan that other witnesses had given differing views as to whether they believed Mr Lowry had the right to ask members of the committee questions concerning the competition, while it was still under way.
Mr Brennan said it was difficult at this stage for him to recall what his view was at the time. He said that his relationship with the minister of the day would have been one based on a presumption of integrity.
"I think I would have known if I was getting improper signals from the minister," he said. If he had thought that Mr Lowry was looking for information that he was considering passing on to someone else, then he would have felt he had to consider the matter.
Mr Brennan said that as far as he could recall he had three conversations with the minister concerning the competition.
The first was soon after the bids for the licence had been submitted and consisted of his informing the minister that he believed good bids had been received and the Department would get a "good licensee".
The second conversation involved him telling Mr Lowry that the six bids were breaking down into three good ones and three not so good, or two good, two middle and two not so good. The conversation did not involve his giving names to the various bids that fell into the various categories.
The tribunal adjourned and is to resume hearings at a date yet to be set but most likely some day next week.
