Ganley bid to include tribunal findings in action challenged

The Chief State Solicitors Office is challenging an amendment by businessman, Declan Ganley, to include the findings of the Moriarty Tribunal in his case against the State and Denis O’Brien over the second mobile phone licence.

Mr Ganley was part of a consortium with the US telecoms firm, Comcast, that lost out in the second mobile phone licence awarded by the State to the Denis O’Brien controlled Esat Digifone in 1995.

The competition process has been dogged by controversy and was the subject of the lengthy Moriarty Tribunal, which looked into allegations that then minister for communications, Michael Lowry, had influenced the outcome.

In 2011, the Moriarty Tribunal delivered its report which concluded that Mr Lowry had helped deliver the licence for Mr O’Brien.

Mr O’Brien has consistently rejected the tribunal’s findings.

Mr Ganley and Comcast had originally initiated legal proceedings against the State.

However, Mr O’Brien successful applied to join the State as a defendant in the case before at the end of 2013.

In an affidavit prepared by Donough McGuinness on behalf of the Chief State Solicitors Office, the State is looking to prevent Mr Ganley from using any of the findings of Moriarty Tribunal.

The State noted that in Mr Ganley’s original claim, his legal team said that it would not be relying on Moriarty.

Moreover, the Chief State Solicitors Office’s affidavit said that the findings of the Moriarty Tribunal are opinions and not facts. The State is also arguing that Mr Ganley’s claim is in breach of the statute of limitations as it was filed in 2005. It also noted that the Moriarty Tribunal was released in 2011.

Separately, Comcast has retained the law firm, A&L Goodbody, to keep a watching brief on the case on its behalf.