By Ruth Mercer
The High Court has imposed detailed timetables intended to move the long-running Persona and Ganley telecoms litigation towards trial, while deciding that it is still too early to fix a final hearing date.
The two sets of proceedings arise from events dating back almost 30 years and involve overlapping claims against State parties and other defendants. Persona Digital Telephony Limited and Rockabill Wireless Limited are plaintiffs in one action, while Declan Ganley and related companies are among the plaintiffs in the other.
In a ruling delivered on 2 December 2025, Ms Justice Egan said there was a strong public interest in having the cases heard and determined, reinforced by the age and health of some potential witnesses. However, significant procedural work remained outstanding in both actions.
The court therefore declined to allocate an immediate trial date. Instead, it directed a sequence of deadlines covering discovery disputes, amended pleadings, possible preliminary issues, witness lists, expert reports, written submissions and consideration of whether the two cases should be heard together.
A central unresolved question is whether the Persona and Ganley actions should proceed in tandem. The State argued that overlapping factual witnesses should give evidence only once, while Persona said it would resist any arrangement that caused appreciable delay to its own trial.
The court also left open whether the cases should proceed as single trials or be divided into separate liability and damages modules. Potential applications concerning the Ganley plaintiffs' standing and further discovery were given specific procedural deadlines.
The current timetable runs into early 2027, with a possible hearing contemplated in the Hilary or Whit sittings of that year, but no date was assigned.
The ruling is therefore a case-management decision only. It does not determine the underlying allegations, liability, damages, standing issues or whether the two actions will ultimately be tried together.