Mr Ray Burke told the tribunal today that he acted in compliance with section 16 of the 1988 Radio and Television Act when he directed RTÉ in March 1989 to reduce their charges for the use of their transmission facilities by Century Radio.
In 1989 Mr Burke directed RTÉ to reduce their charges to Century Communications from £614,000 to £375,000. Century Communications had stated for some time prior to this that any charge above £375,000 would be uneconomical for them and would in effect be a contribution to RTÉ.
Counsel for the tribunal, Mr Pat Hanratty SC, put it to Mr Burke that he had in fact not received a formal request from the IRTC chairman, Mr Justice Seamus Henchey, to issue a directive concerning transmission charges and that Mr Justice Henchey had, in a letter to Mr Burke, merely passed on Century Communications request for the directive to Mr Burke in February 1989.
Mr Burke said he had treated the IRTC letter as a formal request as did everyone in his department. He added that Mr Justice Henchey, in evidence to the tribunal, said he himself had considered the letter to be a formal request from the IRTC. Mr Burke denied Mr Hanratty's assertion that no formal request from the IRTC, a requirement under section 16 of the Act, had been contained in the letter.
Mr Hanratty SC also asked Mr Burke if he then consulted with RTÉ after receiving the request from the IRTC which Mr Hanratty pointed out was also a requirement of the Radio and Television Act.
Mr Burke said that he had "been in consultation with RTÉ" since January and that he "knew their position inside out" and he thought that he did not need to consult with them after the request since "nothing new" would come of it.
When asked why he did not consult the Attorney General on the matter Mr Burke said the question of legality never arose in his department or with the IRTC.
Mr Burke's testimony to the tribunal continues tomorrow.