I am aware of the legal proceedings to which Deputy Rabbitte is referring and also of the fact that one of the parties concerned was willing to accept, for the purpose of those proceedings, that he controlled the Master Meats Group in 1987.
I take it the Deputy is referring to a merger notified to the Minister on 14 September 1988 under the Mergers Act, relating to the acquisition by Master Meats Anstalt, a Liechtenstein company, of Mr. Pascal Phelan's 50% shareholding in Master Meats. In the 1988 notification it was stated that the acquiring company was backed by "Middle Eastern interests" but no further information was given as to the principals behind the company. The proposal was cleared by the then Minister that same day.
It subsequently came to light that Mr. Phelan's business partner, Mr. Taher, had previously sold his 50% stake in Master Meats to another Liechtenstein company, Taros Anstalt, in April 1987. It also emerged that the shareholders of Taros Anstalt were Mr. Schneider, Mr. Mansur and Mr. Hardman and that negotiations on their behalf were conducted by Mr. Larry Goodman.
The take over of Master Meats and related issues was the subject of an investigation by the Fair Trade Commission in 1989. In giving evidence to the commission, Mr. Goodman stated that he was not a beneficial owner of shares in Master Meats and that the Minister had been made aware of the identities of the three shareholders before the 1988 transaction was notified. However, my Department has no record of any meetings between the Minister and Mr. Goodman in that regard.
The more recent history regarding these matters is that on 14 November 2000, Mr. Paschal Phelan initiated proceedings in the High Court against Mr. Goodman and Mr. Taher claiming a conspiracy to force him out of the company. During a preliminary court hearing Mr. Phelan's lawyers lodged a notice of motion for discovery of certain documents held by my Department relating to the 1988 notification. Mr. Goodman's counsel then said he would be willing to assist the court in accepting, for the purpose of those proceedings, that Mr. Goodman controlled the Master Meats Group in 1987. I am concerned about the implications of this matter and my officials are taking legal advice as to what further action should be taken.