Council plans court action against protesters

Dublin City Council will seek to have eight waste charges protesters fined or jailed next Monday for contempt of the High Court…

Dublin City Council will seek to have eight waste charges protesters fined or jailed next Monday for contempt of the High Court.

Ms Carol O'Farrell, counsel for the local authority, said the group had obstructed bin lorries at Mount Tallant Avenue, Harold's Cross, Dublin, yesterday morning.

She told Mr Justice O'Donovan that the council believed that members of the group had been aware of the making of an order last week restraining protesters from interfering with the council's waste collection service.

Ms O'Farrell said the order also prohibited anyone with knowledge of the making of the order from blocking bin lorries leaving or entering the council's depot and from interfering with the passage of bin lorries during collection runs.

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Mr Justice O'Donovan granted the council permanent injunctions restraining Mr Dermot Freeman and Mr Eamonn Ó hEachairn from interfering in any way with the council's waste collection service.

Mr Ross Maguire, counsel for 11 other named protesters, said his clients were prepared to give an undertaking to the court to comply with existing restraints outlawing any interference with waste collections by the council.

Mr Justice O'Donovan granted Dublin City Council leave to publish in the press notice of the making of the interlocutory injunction against Mr Freeman and Mr Ó hEachairn, but he refused to direct gardaí to arrest any protester they considered to be in contempt of court.

"I am not going to give authority to members of the gardaí to arrest people they believe to have breached orders of this court," Mr Justice O'Donovan said.

"You would be making them judges with regard to whether or not a contempt had been committed. It is for the court to oversee the implementation of its orders."

The judge said that he would direct members of the gardaí to note the names and addresses of protesters they suspected of having committed a breach of a court order.