Reluctant witness attacks queries, forgets replies

Who else could feel confident enough to deliver a firm lecture to the 72-year-old chairman of a tribunal but an 83-year-old former…

Who else could feel confident enough to deliver a firm lecture to the 72-year-old chairman of a tribunal but an 83-year-old former Supreme Court judge?

With a straight back and a lucid mind, Mr Seamus Henchy sailed into Dublin Castle yesterday to deliver a one-man protest at the way the tribunal was going about its business. His anger at being dragged out of retirement to answer questions about events of 12 years ago was palpable.

The veteran of distant legal tussles repeatedly questioned the tribunal's right to inquire into the IRTC he chaired from 1988 to 1993.

As far as the witness was concerned, he knew nothing about payments to Ray Burke and that was that. The tribunal had no jurisdiction to ask questions about the commission and how it ran its business. The IRTC was answerable to the Dail and not to the tribunal.

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Mr Henchy isn't the first person to complain about the tribunal, but most others have taken their grievances to the High Court. However, after making his feelings thoroughly plain, the witness stayed to be questioned about his role in the award of a licence to Century Radio.

Mr Justice Flood trod carefully, taking care not to offend his former professor of jurisprudence, but still insisting that he give evidence.

The witness showed disdain for answering questions on "practical details". He couldn't remember his retirement date, or how to count back to it when invited to do so.

The giving of evidence proved something of an anti-climax. Mr Des O'Neill SC, for the tribunal, read out long extracts from documents or previous evidence, and the witness answered "Yes", "No" or, most often, "I can't recollect".

Mr Henchy, who was an executive chairman of the IRTC, couldn't remember the details of his meetings with the minister, or being told that RTE and Mr Burke's officials had reached agreement on transmission fees.

He couldn't remember how the commission reached a consensus decision to grant the franchise to Century. Neither could he recall the crucial meeting he and the secretary of the IRTC, Mr Sean Connolly, had with Century's promoters on the day after the oral hearings for the national licence in January 1989.

Mr Connolly has said his chairman organised this meeting, which left Century with the impression it had won the licence, although an official announcement was not made for another five days.

There was a "general opinion" that RTE's transmission charges were too high, because Century wasn't getting "full coverage" in return, Mr Henchy said.

The witness appeared to contradict himself, by first asserting that the IRTC had not requested the minister to make a directive reducing the transmission charges, and later saying the commission "authorised" the request for a directive.

As for Mr Burke's action in nominating the banker, solicitor and accountant used by the commission, Mr Henchy pleaded ignorance and indifference. He didn't know that the minister made the nominations, but added that it was "a matter of no importance".

Last week we learned that Mr Burke nominated his personal branch of Ulster Bank at Dublin Airport to the IRTC, which had offices in central Dublin. Mr Henchy maintained yesterday that "Ulster Bank Ltd" had been appointed and that the commission used branches near its offices.

However, this suggestion was quickly rebuffed, with tribunal lawyers pointing out that the IRTC had its overdraft facility at Dublin Airport.