Water protesters prepared to be jailed

FOUR water scheme protesters are willing to go to jail rather than allow a pipeline to be laid in Limerick, it emerged yesterday.

The men are opposing Limerick County Council’s plan to link their freshwater scheme with the Shannon Estuary Scheme, which takes water from the “polluted” River Deel.

Their spokesman, Dan Foley, 64, said they were determined not to halt their protest, despite being notified of legal action by the council.

“They have bulldozed their way through us but we’re determined to fight. We’ve no problem with going to jail, even though it causes a lot of distress to elderly people,” he said.

The protesters are all from Kildimo and Pallaskenry in west Limerick and two of them, Patsy and Davy Gleeson, are in their 70s. They will appear in the High Court in Dublin on Monday, when the council will seek a High Court injunction to halt their protest.

Mr Foley said that while they did not want to be compared to the Rossport Five, they had tremendous admiration for them.

“They would have been a big example to us. They’ve been through the mill but we’ve been through the mill in our own way because we’ve spent years negotiating.”

The dispute over the water supply in Kildimo and Pallaskenry has been going on for nearly 15 years, with locals resisting plans to be included in the Shannon Estuary Scheme.

Mr Foley said around 1,000 households had perfect water from Bleach Lough and Dromore Lake but would have to take water from the Deel if linked to the council scheme.

“We know the history of the River Deel. It’s renowned for pollution. Everything is dumped in it,” he said.

However, the Ballyshonick Group Water Scheme in nearby Kilcornan say the 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 brush their teeth.

They are depending on the new connection to the council’s Shannon Estuary scheme for drinking water.

Limerick County Council confirmed it had served notice on the legal representatives of the Bleach Lough Retention Committee.

Its director of transportation and water services, Paul Crowe, said the men had put a white line on a public road and pledged to obstruct the council if it went further with its pipeline.

“Is it to be the case that individuals can obstruct the provision of public infrastructure for what many would see as no good reason?” he asked.

“We are guaranteeing the people in Pallaskenry and Kildimo that we would provide them with potable water in compliance with EU and national regulations.”