A High Court judge yesterday expressed concern about people engaging in conversations on their mobile phones while driving on primary roads. Mr Justice Kinlen said he hoped drivers would pull in before using their phones.
He was hearing an application by Eircell Ltd for an order to prevent protesters from interfering with the company's construction of a mobile phone mast and base station on a site on the N30 primary route at Berkeley, New Ross, Co Wexford.
Responding to the judge's concerns about use of mobile phones in cars, Mr Bob Hastings, counsel for Eircell, told the judge the company strongly advised against driving while using a phone.
The judge granted Mr Hastings's application for a temporary order, effective until next Monday, restraining a number of named defendants and anyone with notice of the order from interfering with Eircell's use of the site.
Mr Hastings said the company obtained planning permission from Wexford County Council on May 8th, 1998, for the development. ???????????????????ala last January rejected an appeal against that decision. and granted permission, subject to certain terms and conditions. The planning permission was for a five-year period, running from last January and Eircell signed a five-year lease on the property in February. But due to the actions of the protesters, almost 20 per cent of the planning period had been lost, he said. On March 27th last, a subcontractor at the site was threatened and blockaded there, counsel said. He was followed to his home. As a result, the subcontractor no longer wished to do the work.
Subsequently, a 24-hour protest was maintained at the site and Eircell went into a detailed process of meetings with all and sundry to try to resolve the situation. On September 13th last, a contractor tried to get into the site but was blockaded. Last week, the contractor tried to get in, but protestors again appeared.
In an affidavit, Mr Thomas Murtagh, head of Eircell's network construction department, said the N30 national primary route ran between New Ross and Enniscorthy. A stretch of that road - between New Ross and Clonroche - had significant areas of poor coverage.
Hence, Eircell needed to install a base station within the area. Works on the site were initially scheduled to commence last March and to take about three weeks.
Mr Murtagh said one of the main concerns of those opposed to the erection of base stations was that the antennae would emit radiation.
But the nearest house, save for that of the site owner, was more than 475 to 500 metres from the site. Tests had shown that the signal level detectable at a point approximately 500 metres from a base station was more than 10,000 times lower than the limit set by the International Radiation Protection Association, Mr Murtagh said.