What is the relationship between Persona and Jerry Healy SC?
The precise extent of the relationship between Jerry Healy SC and Persona (and indeed between Jerry Healy SC and individuals and / or entities associated with the Persona consortium) has never been comprehensively addressed by the Moriarty Tribunal. However, it was confirmed during the course of sworn evidence given before the Tribunal that Solicitors for Persona contacted Mr. Healy seeking legal advice very shortly after the result of the second mobile phone licence competition was announced on 25 October 1995. It also emerged that Mr. Healy advised Persona in respect of avenues for potential Judicial Review proceedings against the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications regarding what was the then pending award of the second mobile phone licence to Esat Digifone.
The extent of the previous relationship (i.e. prior to late 1995) between Mr. Healy and individuals and /or entities associated with the Persona consortium has never been addressed. It is not known publicly, for instance, whether Mr. Healy had any involvement with Persona’s unsuccessful bid for the second mobile phone licence or whether he had previously acted for any parties and/or entities associated with the Persona consortium. Persona was at all material times represented by the Cork based firm of Solicitors, GJ Maloney & Co. Solicitors.
Subsequent to this initial contact in late 1995 regarding potential Irish High Court Judicial Review options after the competition result was announced, Persona filed two separate detailed written complaints with DGIV (the Competition Directorate) of the European Commission seeking to challenge the competition process and the awarding of the second mobile phone licence to Esat Digifone. Both complaints were ultimately rejected by the European Commission. The extent of Mr. Healy’s input in either (or indeed both) unsuccessful complaints to the European Commission remains unknown.
However, during the evidence given to the Tribunal by Mr. Tony Boyle of Persona in 2005, it was revealed that the Moriarty Tribunal wrote privately to Gerald Maloney, Solicitor of GJ Maloney and Co. Solicitors in March 2001 seeking a written waiver from Mr. Maloney (on behalf of his clients Persona) permitting Mr. Healy to privately divulge information to the Tribunal Chairman that he had received during the period of time that he acted as senior legal adviser to Persona. This waiver was immediately provided to the Tribunal by Persona’s Solicitor, Gerald Maloney. The Tribunal has steadfastly refused to provide copies of this correspondence between itself and Persona, although details of this correspondence was divulged during the public session of the Tribunal on Day 304 (10 November 2005) during the cross examination of Mr. Tony Boyle. The relevant extract of the Tribunal transcript from Day 304 dealing with the waiver issue can be found below:
Apart from his role as Solicitor, Mr. Gerald Maloney was also Company Secretary to Persona Digital Telephony Limited. The extent of the previous professional relationship between GJ Maloney & Co, Solicitors and Jerry Healy SC has not been publicly addressed by the Tribunal. This waiver correspondence and subsequent private discussions between the Tribunal Chairman and Jerry Healy SC took place before the Moriarty Tribunal announced that it was commencing public sittings to inquire into the awarding of the second mobile phone licence.
The Moriarty Tribunal has refused to provide copies of the waiver correspondence to interested parties. However those letter were opened briefly on Day 304. They read as follows:
Letter to G.J. Maloney & Co. (Solicitors to Persona) from the Moriarty Tribunal dated 26 March 2001
“Dear Mr. Maloney,
I am writing to you at the request of Jerry Healy, SC, in connection with his role in advising the Persona consortium’s application for the second GSM licence.
As the Tribunal (Terms of Reference enclosed) is in the course of carrying out certain confidential queries in relation to the granting of this licence, Mr. Healy has asked me to inquire whether Persona would be willing to waiver any duty of confidentiality he may owe to Persona in connection with his work as an adviser to the consortium, and, in particular, with respect to any information he may have obtained in the course of carrying out that work.
I would be much obliged to hear from you at your earliest convenience.
Reply to the Moriarty Tribunal from Letter to G.J. Maloney & Co. (Solicitors to Persona) dated 26 March 2009
Dear Mr. Davis,
I acknowledge receipt of your fax of earlier today.
I confirm that we act for Persona Digital Telephony Limited, one of the applicants for the second GSM licence.
As my clients do not wish in any way to hamper the Tribunal in its inquiries in relation to the granting of this licence, they are agreeable to releasing Mr. Healy from any obligation of confidentiality he may owe to them with respect to information he may have obtained in the course of carrying out his work as an adviser to them.
Despite the existence of this waiver correspondence and the apparent necessity on the part of the Tribunal to secure such a written waiver from Persona’s Solicitors, the extent of the information and/or material subsequently provided by Jerry Healy SC in private to the Tribunal Chairman has never been publicly disclosed or discussed. The Tribunal has never confirmed what information passed between Jerry Healy SC and the Chairman of the Tribunal regarding Mr. Healy’s involvement with Persona. It is not known to what extent Mr. Healy’s discussions with the Tribunal Chairman in private contributed to the Tribunal’s decision to proceed to hold public inquiries in respect of the second mobile phone licence competition.
Persona’s personal interaction with Jerry Healy SC continued during the Tribunal’s private inquiries into the licence process. By way of example, on 9 July 2002, Gerald Moloney, Solicitor to Persona, sent a personal fax directly to Jerry Healy SC which read as follows:
“Jerry,
Sorry about the quality but here’s the commission letter faxed to me today- it is dated 26th June
Gerald”
Enclosed with the fax sent to Mr. Healy was a 2 page letter received by Mr. Maloney from The Director General of the Competition Directorate of the European Commission. At that time Persona was actively involved in intensive efforts to secure material and information that could be used by the Tribunal in its inquiries into the licence process and by Persona in their High Court damages action against the State. Those efforts included a number of trips to Brussels on the part of GJ Maloney & Co and meetings with Officials from the European Commission. This letter as sent directly to Jerry Healy SC related to a matter into which the Tribunal was at that time actively inquiring into during its private inquiries. A full copy of the “Dear Jerry” fax can be accessed via the link below:
It is important to note that the established point of contact and communication for all third parties with the Moriarty Tribunal is through the full- time Solicitor employed by the Tribunal. It should also be noted that other parties represented before the Tribunal have been severely reprimanded by the Chairman of the Tribunal for failing to adhere to the accepted practice of corresponding only with the Tribunal through the Solicitor to the Tribunal. The Tribunal has not explained why such an exception was made in the case of Persona’s contacts with Mr. Healy.
This is not however the only occasion that third parties have corresponded directly with Jerry Healy SC in relation to the workings of the Moriarty Tribunal. In 2003, Dr. Peter Bacon of Peter Bacon and Associates furnished invoices for significant amounts directly to Jerry Healy SC. These invoices were in relation to work done in private by Dr. Bacon on behalf of the Tribunal, including, most notably, the production of two detailed reports prepared in conjunction with the Tribunal’s legal team which were critical of many aspects of the second mobile phone licence competition process. Further detail on Dr. Peter Bacon’s interaction with the Tribunal can be found at the relevant section of this site.
