Water protest trials set for after election

The trials against Socialist Party TD Paul Murphy and two party councillors, with Tánaiste Joan Burton as star witness, will not take place before the next election, the Irish Examiner has established.

The Courts Service confirmed that the current waiting time for trials to be heard in Dublin Circuit Court after charges have been laid was between nine and 10 months.

Legal sources said that it will probably be as late as July before any of the trials start — well after the deadline for the next election, which is the end of March.