Can Michael Lowry still be government kingmaker now Moriarty Tribunal has resurfaced?

News that the Garda is to send a file to the DPP following its investigation into the findings of the Moriarty tribunal will test the memory of even the most avid news watcher.

The tribunal, which lasted 14 years and cost the taxpayer millions, explored in jaw-dropping detail the relationship between prominent business people and politicians. It filed its report in 2011.

One politician featured prominently: Michael Lowry, and the tribunal found that he “secured the winning” of the State’s second mobile phone licence for Denis O’Brien’s company, Esat Digifone. It also found that Lowry, a former Fine Gael minister, was given money by O’Brien, with the payments “demonstrably referable” to his winning of the licence. Both men have disputed the findings.

It is not known if there is any recommendations in relation to Lowry in the file submitted to the DPP.

Lowry is a vote topper in his native Tipperary as an Independent TD and he has been in the news since the recent election, labelled a kingmaker because he is leading negotiations on behalf of the nine-strong Regional Independents group, with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.

So, will this latest development in the Moriarty tribunal saga impact on his role in government formation?

Colm Keena reported on the Moriarty tribunal from its inception in 1997 to 2011. He explains what it did and why, and who exactly is Michael Lowry.

Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan.

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