The "inevitable effect, if not the object", of High Court proceedings by the ITG telecommunications group is to undermine Eircell's arrangements with An Post for the sale of Eircell Ready To Go vouchers from terminals installed in retail outlets across the State, the High Court heard yesterday.

What ITG was seeking to do was enter into arrangements with Eircell so ITG could distribute electronic Ready To Go vouchers through its terminals, Eircell's Mr Brian Sheridan said. But Eircell was not in the market for the distribution of such vouchers, having determined, following an open tender, to contract An Post to carry out this distribution.

ITG's essential objective was to circumvent the result of that open and fair tendering process in which ITG itself had participated unsuccessfully, he added. ITG had put forward a tender proposing a profit margin for itself of 6 per cent, on top of a retailer margin of 10 per cent, and Eircell had made it clear this was excessive and not acceptable.

The margin proposed by An Post for itself was significantly lower and that was the principal reason why An Post's tender was accepted, he said.

Mr Sheridan said ITG's real concern was that it feared competition from An Post. The arrangements which Eircell had chosen to make with An Post was a matter for Eircell's commercial judgment and Eircell could not be compelled to use ITG's services.

In proceedings before Mr Justice O Caoimh, ITG is seeking an interlocutory injunction ( pending the full trial of proceedings) restraining Eircell from refusing to sell its electronic pre-paid vouchers to ITG.