A full hearing of a legal challenge to the construction of the controversial Corrib gas-field pipeline in Mayo is unlikely to go ahead until March at the earliest.
Mr Justice John MacMenamin said the president of the High Court would assign a judge to deal with issues related to the proceedings on a continuing basis and the case would be listed for mention again next week.
The proceedings have been brought by a number of local people, including five men who were jailed last June for breaching a court order granted to Shell which restrained interference with the pipeline construction. They were freed in September. One of the five, James Philbin, and another landowner, Bríd McGarry, have applied to amend their defences to the action and to bring counter claims by joining the Minister for Marine and Natural Resources in the case.
However, Shell E&P Ireland Ltd opposes the application. Pat Hanratty SC, for Shell, said if the amendment was allowed it would transform the case from a private law into a public law issue, which would include the State and the Attorney General. If the case was put back too far, an opportunity for construction work on the pipeline would be missed again this year, he said.
Lord Dan Brennan QC, said there was no demonstrable prejudice to Shell or the State by allowing the amendments sought by his clients but there would be a "grave prejudice" if they were not allowed to put in a proper defence. Both sides have agreed that applications for the discovery of documents should not go ahead until the amendment issue is decided.