Four water scheme protesters today pledged to continue their fight after their case was adjourned for two weeks in the High Court.
The members of the Bleach Lough Retention Committee had been facing the prospect of jail if Limerick County Council obtained an injunction to prevent them from obstructing the laying down of a pipeline for their water scheme.
Committee spokesman Dan Foley
But at the High Court in Dublin, Judge Frank Clarke put the case back for two weeks so that the council could supply further information to the protesters.
"We'll be going back to defend our line and we'll continue on there. We're satisfied that we have done nothing wrong and if we're going to jail, we'll be going in as innocent people," said committee spokesman Dan Foley.
Mr Foley (64) and the other protesters - Patrick Gleeson (69) Gerry O'Dowd (50) and Donal O'Brien (48) - are all from Kildimo and Pallaskenry in West Limerick and are opposing the council's plan to link their freshwater scheme with the Shannon Estuary Scheme, which takes water from the "polluted" River Deel.
They placed a white line on the road outside the village of Pallaskenry last month and have promised to stop the council contractors from going any further with their pipeline, which is now just yards from the white line.
"Our campaign has been ongoing for years. We've still a long way to go in this issue because we've been looking for information for years and we've failed to get it," said Mr Foley.
He said that around 1,000 households in the area had perfect spring water from Bleach Lough and Dromore Lake but would be forced to take water from the River Deel if they were linked up to the council scheme.
"We never asked for this water, we never looked for it. There's a large amount of water in our lake, an abundance of water," he said.
Limerick County Council now has two weeks to provide the protesters with information on any pollution incidents in the River Deel. The council has said that it has gone to the High Court to seek an injunction because the men are obstructing the provision of public infrastructure.
It has said that it will provide the people in Pallaskenry and Kildimo with good quality drinking water by linking them up to the Shannon Estuary Scheme and would also help three other group water schemes with deficient water quality.
The Ballyshonick Group Water Scheme in nearby Kilcornan has said that the protest campaign is forcing them to endure Third World conditions. Their members have been buying bottled water for the last two decades because their current supply is so polluted they can't use it to shower or wash their teeth.
They are depending on the new connection to the council's Shannon Estuary Scheme to receive adequate drinking water.
The case is due to be heard again in the High Court on February 27 th.