A statement from Mr O’Brien said: “I am pleased to put this chapter behind me. This welcome decision of the DPP supports my position throughout that the evidence to support such claims of criminal wrongdoing never existed.”
The news yesterday afternoon followed a similar statement from Tipperary North Independent TD Michael Lowry on Tuesday night.
Mr O’Brien said: “I welcome the decision of the independent Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions directing that there are to be no criminal proceedings pursued in relation to the matters contained in the Moriarty Tribunal report.
“This decision on the part of the DPP was confirmed to me in recent days.
“At the first instance, I am very grateful to the members of An Garda Síochána who conducted a thorough and diligent investigation into these matters. They acted with commendable diligence, courtesy and professionalism throughout.
“I am also very appreciative of the detailed consideration given to this matter by the DPP, which has ultimately led to this decision.”
Denis O’Brien
News in 90 seconds – March 11
Like Mr Lowry, he strongly criticised tribunals of inquiry.
“However well-intentioned they may have been at one point in history, tribunals of inquiry have proven to be a desperately flawed – and I believe desperately unfair – means of investigating matters of this nature in this country,” the statement added.
“Ultimately, tribunals of inquiry did not serve the purpose for which they were intended. I would acknowledge that the task bestowed on Mr Justice Michael Moriarty was a difficult one. However, my own experience of the tribunal process involved a great many scarcely credible elements.”
The Moriarty Tribunal was established in September, 1997 to examine payments to former taoiseach Charles Haughey and then Fine Gael TD Mr Lowry.
The tribunal’s final report was published in March, 2011 and found that then minister Mr Lowry helped Mr O’Brien secure the State’s second mobile phone licence in 1995.
It also criticised the TD’s behaviour as “profoundly corrupt to a degree that was nothing short of breathtaking”.
The findings were strongly rejected by those at the centre of the criticisms.
The 2011 report was referred by the government to An Garda Síochána. Then the DPP had to decide whether any criminal charges would be brought.
In his statement on Tuesday, Mr Lowry said the tribunal’s findings “have allowed me to be subjected to repeated insults, smears and false allegations, with no legal remedy available to me”.
He described how the whole process had taken almost 30 years, with the tribunal lasting 14 years and then a 13-year garda investigation.
Throughout it, he “fully co-operated with the gardaí and voluntarily met them and answered all questions”, he said.