NORTH TIPPERARY County Council will apply for a High Court order on Monday to stop some local residents maintaining a blockade near a house allocated to a family who are members of the Travelling community and which includes children with special needs.
The family whom the council are seeking to house are currently living in a mobile home on the side of the road without toilet facilities and electricity and have been on the housing list for eight years.
The council has initiated court proceedings because of a continuing blockade which began early last month when local residents discovered a house at Cullenagh, Ballina, Co Tipperary, had been acquired by the council to house the 10-member O'Reilly family.
David Kennedy SC, for the council, yesterday secured permission from Mr Justice Roderick Murphy to serve notice, on those individuals involved in the blockade, that the council would apply for an injunction on Monday to restrain the protesters interfering with and trespassing upon the property.
Mr Kennedy said the situation had become "very inflamed" and the council was in a position where it had to act. Access had been gained to the house in Cullenagh and glue had been placed in the locks.
The electricity had been cut off and it was unclear whether the water supply was working, Mr Kennedy said. Council employees attending the house were also in fear of being intimidated by those maintaining the blockade.
In an affidavit, Sharon Kennedy, senior executive officer of the council's housing capital schemes section, said the O'Reilly family - two parents and their eight children, some of whom have special needs - were residing in a mobile home on the roadside without toilet facilities or electricity.
The family were from the locality and had been on the housing list since 2000 and the council intended to house them at Cullenagh as soon as possible, she said.
However, early last month, after the council's plan became public knowledge, a number of residents from the Ballina area expressed their disapproval at the move, Ms Kennedy said.
Some residents had entered a private part of the council's offices in Nenagh and were verbally abusive. Eventually, gardaí were called.
The residents have been outside the house at Cullenagh since September 5th last, she said. They were initially on the footpath outside the house and consistently blocked it. They also erected tents and placed a picket by holding up placards.
Early this month, they were moved on by gardaí.
Since September 26th, the residents had occupied a portion of privately owned land to the side of the house, Ms Kennedy said. The council had a right of way over that land, but the right of way had been blocked by parked cars and a camper van.
Ms Kennedy said she was concerned the O'Reilly family would be subject to intimidation when they eventually occupied the premises.
Last month more than 60 local residents applied for leave to bring a High Court judicial review challenge aimed at overturning the council's decision to enter into a tenancy agreement with the O'Reilly family.
The leave application was rejected by Mr Justice Peter Charleton who found they had established no arguable case.