Enda Kenny was not an iconoclastic politician. He did not hold the same public intrigue as Charlie Haughey or Bertie Ahern. He was not an intellectual in the mould of Garret FitzGerald. 

But he knew how to adapt, to shapeshift. A naturally conservative politician, he warred with the Church and provided for same-sex marriage.

His capacity to read the public mood, and react to it accordingly, was also deeply underappreciated.

This was particularly the case in his response to the publication of the final report of the Moriarty Tribunal in 2011.  

I reread his lengthy statement in the Dáil last week after the gardaí confirmed that a file had been forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) arising from their criminal investigation into the findings of the tribunal.

Kenny’s speech was a damning critique of what had occurred and of the system and the culture that allowed it to occur. 

“I believe this report will weary and bewilder people more than others. In these straitened times, when people are hurting and suffering so badly what the report exposes is all the more galling, damaging and worrying,” he stated.

Kenny went further: “The very fact that a modern democracy – a still-young republic – would require tribunals into payments to politicians at all is proof of the degradation of politics, the decline of civic virtue, the inevitable rise of public cynicism and disengagement.

“It shows, too, what happens to a society when people swap the big idea of their being responsible, powerful citizens for the infinitely smaller and confining idea of being mere customers or consumers.”

Kenny said that the Moriarty Tribunal had found “seriously, and serially” against his former cabinet colleague Michael Lowry and “others who are major players in Irish business and public life”.

Kenny said that Lowry was elected to the Dáil, a place he described as “the highest forum in the land”, on the basis of public trust. 

“And it is here in this forum, that I expect him to answer Mr Justice Moriarty’s findings against him, to do it forensically and willingly: not from ego, or from the ‘position’ he and others adopted from the outset of this tribunal, or from his sense of ‘mandate’,” Kenny stated. 

“I cannot imagine a mandate from Irish people – or true democrats anywhere – that would involve an order or desire or permission for the behaviour outlined in the report.”

Micheál Martin was the leader of the opposition at the time. 

In his Dáil speech in 2011, he addressed, at some length, what he described as “two major issues relating to Deputy Michael Lowry”. 

“In relation to improper support he received from Ben Dunne, the evidence of his attempts to seek to corrupt an independent process in favour of Mr Dunne is absolutely clear. However the public policy implications of this and the unanswered questions are very limited,” Martin said in 2011.

The second issue was the awarding of the state’s second mobile phone licence to a consortium led by the businessman Denis O’Brien.

“This was the largest commercial contract ever awarded by the Irish State. The report makes it abundantly clear that the integrity of this process was disgracefully compromised,” Martin said, adding: “This report is of course a deep indictment of the conduct of Deputy Lowry both as a minister and in the years following his reluctant resignation. In spite of the deeply cynical spinning by government representatives, this report encompasses far more than the damage caused by one rogue politician.”

I don’t need to summarise what Mr Justice Moriarty said about Lowry’s role in the award of the license, because Martin did it for everyone that day in the Dáil. He said: 

“It amounts to a shocking indictment of his behaviour. Commenting on his motives or actions, the report says of Deputy Lowry;

– that it is ‘beyond doubt’ that he gave ‘substantive information to Denis O’Brien, of significant value and assistance to him in securing the licence’;

– that he had ‘irregular interactions with interested parties at its most sensitive stages, sought and received substantive information on emerging trends (and) made his preference as between the leading candidates known’;

– that he ‘conferred a benefit on Mr Denis O’Brien, a person who made payments to Mr Lowry’;

– that he ‘not only influenced, but delivered, the result’, when Esat secured the mobile phone licence;

– that he was an ‘insidious and pervasive influence’ on the licensing process;

– that he had engaged in a ‘cynical and venal abuse of office’;

and

– that he was involved in attempting to influence an arrangement that was ‘profoundly corrupt to a degree that was nothing short of breathtaking’.”

Michael Lowry has rejected the report. So too has Denis O’Brien. 

Yet, the report stands there in perpetuity, accepted by our political leaders as fact and unchallenged in the courts.

The report was the basis of the garda investigation that has now led to a file being sent to the DPP. 

(In a statement on Thursday evening, Lowry said he had learned “with surprise” about the move, adding: “I am fully confident that there is no basis for any liability attaching to me.”)

While the findings of the tribunal cannot be used in a pending legal action against the State by the underbidder in the mobile licence process, the evidence given to it can be used.

The case is being taken by the Persona consortium, which is seeking €500 million in damages. After years of false starts and delays, the case should be heard this year. 

The state, while accepting the findings of the report, is defending the action. 

Persona’s Tony Boyle previously told the state he would drop the case if it covered its legal expenses to date. The offer was rejected. 

When the report was published all those years ago, Martin called on Lowry to resign. Last week, he told reporters: “I did say that. But every general election since then, the people of Tipperary have taken the decision in terms of who represents them in Dáil Éireann.”

Asked if the move by the authorities to send a file to the DPP had changed his considerations around government formation talks, he said: “I have to be very careful what I say, given that this file has gone to the DPP.

“I have to be mindful of the independence of the DPP and also anything that would in any way undermine or impact on the progress of such an investigation and the subsequent potential court proceedings if that were to materialise.”

Taoiseach Simon Harris, meanwhile, dwelled upon the importance of continuing with Government formation talks involving “democratically elected” independent TDs.

“It is very important that I and nobody in political life says anything to cut across any independent processes that may or may not be underway,” said Harris.

In recent days, both Harris and Martin have said Michael Lowry is not a “kingmaker” in talks to form the next government.

But Lowry is clearly a central player in those talks through his role with the regional independent grouping. He was central to Verona Murphy’s installment as Ceann Comhairle and will be central to the construction of the Programme for Government if his grouping supports Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil.

Enda Kenny began his speech in 2011 by saying that the people of Ireland, beleaguered by so many tribunals and reports, could “expect anything but more of the same” on this occasion.

“Because I know that yet another report, reeking of fanatical greed, obsessive attachment to power, and breathtaking attempts to acquire, use and access privilege… is enough now, for the people of Ireland,” Kenny said. 

What does Lowry’s role in government formation say of that promise?  

Time passes. Controversies dampen. Scandals are forgotten. The world moves on. 

Yet the report of the Moriarty tribunal should not be lessened by the passing of time. The report still stands, even if it is politically convenient to ignore it. 

*****

Elsewhere last week, Kenny Jacobs, the chief executive of the Dublin Airport Authority, believes there are huge opportunities to grow the semi-state’s operations – at home and abroad. But first, as he told Tom last week, Ireland must deal with its Byzantine planning laws.

After an almost two-year journey through the Oireachtas, The Gambling Regulation Act was finally adopted on October 16 last year in what the Ceann Comhairle called “a fairly protracted process”. CEO-designate of the Gambling Regulatory Authority Anne Marie Caulfield outlines her priorities now the legislation has been passed.

Sisu now has 25 cosmetic clinics in Ireland, the UK and the United States. After raising $15m in venture debt, its co-founders explained how the next stage will be to take in private equity backing.

Stymying receivers at his Castlehyde home has bought the Lord of the Dance Michael Flatley time to pursue claims of malice and bad faith against lender Novellus. But the case raises questions about the value of the property and the robustness of Flatley’s business. Francesca told the story. Meanwhile, Thomas looked at the Novellus business model, explaining how the lender’s Irish office is driving its growth. 

Michael D’Arcy left politics to become CEO of the Irish Association of Investments Managers. The former junior minister talked about the perception of the sector, the need for swifter legislation and the impact of social media on politics.