The Moriarty Tribunal sat for over 14 years and has so far cost over €80 million, but what did it actually achieve?
In this two-part special, the Scannal team pieces together the events that led to the Tribunal; the evidence, revelations, delays and hourly rates that scandalised the nation and the bombshell findings whose aftershocks are still being felt 14 years on. Presenter Cormac Ó hEadhra meets journalists, lawyers and politicians to reflect on the Tribunal and the events that sparked it and asks, in hindsight, whether the Moriarty Tribunal was worth it – or, as Denis O’Brien claims, a complete waste of taxpayers’ money?
Part Two: Tuesday 9 December, 7pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player
It was one of the most expensive Tribunals in the history of the State – so what exactly did the Moriarty Tribunal deliver for the taxpayer? In the second episode of this two-part Scannal special, Presenter Cormac Ó hEadhra, with a cast of journalists and experts, looks back at the Moriarty Tribunal and asks whether it was all worth it – or, as Denis O’Brien claims, a complete waste of taxpayers’ money?
The first Moriarty report, published in 2006, focused on the millions former Taoiseach Charles J Haughey had received in personal funds from wealthy donors, often in return for favours.
Then in 2011, Justice Moriarty published his findings into the controversial 1995 awarding of the lucrative second mobile licence contract to Denis O’Brien’s ESAT Digifone company under then Minister for Communications Michael Lowry.
Justice Moriarty’s findings were damning and the Dáil passed an all-party motion calling on Michael Lowry to resign his seat. Both the former Minister and the businessman strenuously rejected the findings and were – and remain – vocal in their criticism of Justice Moriarty and the Tribunal.
Cormac Ó hEadhra and a cast of journalists, experts and commentators reflect on the fallout after the publication of Justice Moriarty’s final report and how the aftershocks continue to be felt to this day.
