The Moriarty Tribunal has approved an investigation by an Oireachtas committee into the awarding of the second mobile phone licence to Esat Digifone.
The Joint Committee on Public Affairs investigation was proposed last week following the debate over a cheque for $50,000 donated to Fine Gael by Telenor - who held a major interest in Esat Digifone - around the time the licence was awarded.
Full details of the affair have since been passed on by Fine Gael to the Moriarty Tribunal.
The committee's investigation was approved today on condition that it did not impinge in any way with the work of the tribunal.
Fine Gael's spokesman on public enterprise, Mr Jim Higgins, welcomed the ruling. It means that the secretary at the Department of Public Enterprise at the time the licence was awarded, Mr John Loughrey, the current Department Secretary, Mr Brendan Tuohy and the Working Group responsible for examining the application will appear before the committee in the near future, he said.
"We also welcome the fact that the former Minister for Transport, Enterprise and Communication, Mr Michael Lowry TD, has indicated that he will also appear before the committee to make a statement and answer all questions regarding his knowledge of the awarding of the licence," Mr Higgins said.
"Fine Gael remains absolutely confident that the procedures used for the granting of the licence were totally above board in every respect," he said.