Taoiseach speaks out after 3am farm repossession attempt
“Court orders, when the court has made its decision, are enforceable. I agree that these things should be done at an appropriate time, not in the middle of the night,” said the Taoiseach, after several TDs raised the matter in the Dail.
Kildare South Labour TD Jack Wall said a public meeting was called in Castledermot to discuss an issue that has caused many a sleepless night for the residents of three townlands close to the town.
He said upwards of 30 men, dressed in black, some with dogs and some wearing balaclavas, sought to access a property in the hours of darkness.
Local Fine Gael TD Martin Heydon said an ongoing case came to a head, when receivers acting on a court order attempted to take possession of land at three o’clock in the morning. “Neighbours stated that land was trespassed on and great intimidation took place as the situation escalated.”
“I do not know if those in the hoods with dogs were the receivers or the protestors, but the activity took place in the middle of the night, and land belonging to third parties, who had no truck with what was going on, was crossed. Elderly people living alone were subjected to the sight of these strangers going around the area.”
Local Fianna Fail TD Seán Ó Fearghaíl said the encounter lasted from midnight to 5 am, and involved 30 uniformed personnel, some of them with dogs, many of them wearing balaclavas and all of them apparently acting on behalf of the receiver.
Minister of State for Justice and Equality Aodhán Ó Ríordáin said 30 or more individuals dressed in dark clothing moving across a rural community in the dead of night appeared to be an unacceptable situation, to say the very least.
