Barry denies allegation of radio licence `price list'

The co-founder of Century Radio, Mr Oliver Barry, has denied telling his business partner that two senior Fianna Fail figures were operating a "price list" for the award of commercial broadcasting licences.

Mr Barry said he could not recollect alleging to Century's other founder, Mr James Stafford, that the government press secretary, Mr P.J. Mara, and the minister for communications, Mr Ray Burke, were operating the price list.

Mr Barry also revealed that he paid Mr Mara £2,000 in the early 1980s when the latter had financial difficulties. The money was not repaid. He said he provided no other payments or benefits to Mr Mara.

Last July, Mr Stafford told the tribunal that the "going rate" for such a price list was £90,000 for a national television licence, £75,000 for each of the Dublin radio licences and £25,000 for a local licence. He said Mr Barry told him this in September or October 1988, several months before Century applied for the national radio franchise. Mr Burke and Mr Mara deny the allegation.

Asked yesterday about the allegation, Mr Barry said he had "no recollection of it whatsoever". Pressed on the matter, he said: "I'm denying it happened. I would have remembered if it did happen."

Mr Barry said there was gossip about "who was well in and who wasn't well in" before the licences were awarded. Mr Mara's name did not feature in this gossip, but he may have told Mr Barry who were the runners in the race.

The only thing that he could recall was that Mr Mara was thinking of leaving his job to go into private enterprise. This was a period when Century was in financial trouble. "I suggested to P.J. that if he was taking on clients he might look at Century Radio and help to rebuild our corporate image."

Mr Stafford has also alleged Mr Barry approached him three times in 1990, saying Mr Mara was "expecting" a sum of money from Century.

Mr Barry said he couldn't recall discussing this with Mr Stafford. At the time, Mr Mara was government press secretary, but he was "quite unhappy" in his job. If he came to work for Century, he would have expected to get paid.

Mr Pat Hanratty SC, for the tribunal, pointed out that Century was "on its knees" at this time. Its banks were "laying down the law", the directors were paying staff out of their own pockets and the remaining staff had taken pay cuts. This was "an unlikely scenario" for the engagement of Mr Mara.

Mr Barry said the people recruited by Century had not delivered what he had expected. "I needed someone to look at our corporate image. P.J. was suitably qualified and he was a friend of mine." In summer 1990, a meeting was held in the office of the financier, Mr Dermot Desmond, to resolve the issue of Mr Mara's employment by Century. Mr Barry said he couldn't recollect the details of this meeting, except that Mr Mara's prospects of being employed were "dead from that day on".