The owners of a sludge processing plant in Co Mayo have been granted a High Court injunction which blocks protesters from impeding vehicles entering and leaving the facility.
Members of the Erris Action Group were meeting last night to consider the implications of the legal move by the Glancre Teoranta drying plant at Geesala. The activists have complained about "intolerable odours" emanating from the factory.
The High Court action by Cork-based Glancre follows a number of incidents where company vehicles were impeded. On Thursday last, a lorry which set out for Belgium from the plant with a cargo of peat-based fuel got off to a snail's pace when about 50 protesters walked slowly in front of the vehicle for a distance of several miles.
Gardaí monitored the "go slow" protest and names were taken. So far there have been no prosecutions.
Yesterday Mr Laurence Howard of the Erris Action Group denied that any laws were broken during the recent protests. "The roads were not blocked and the demonstrations were peaceful", he stated.
Over 2,000 signatures have been lodged with Mayo County Council calling for the refusal of planning permission for the sludge processing plant. Mayo County Council is due to decide early next month on whether the plant should get planning permission.