Councillor cleared over water protest

A Dublin city councillor has been cleared of a criminal offence for failing to leave the vicinity of a water protest in Dublin last year.

Meanwhile, Independent TD Joan Collins told gardaí she had a right to protest and would not move when asked to let a GMC/Sierra water meter installation crew in Dublin do their work, Dublin District Court has heard.

She is before the court for what has been called the “Crumlin 11 trial”. Gardaí have given evidence that GMC/Sierra staff were threatened by protesters at Parnell Rd, Crumlin, on the morning of April 20, 2015.

Ms Collins and her 10 co-defendants, including councillor Patrick Dunne, aged 48, of St Gerard’s Rd, Greenhills, had been accused of failing to comply with a garda’s direction to leave the vicinity. Two co-defendants have additional charges for obstructing gardaí. All 11 have pleaded not guilty.

Mr Dunne was cleared yesterday by Judge Aeneas McCarthy, who dismissed his case. The trial of the remaining 10 continues.

The court heard that Ms Collins and Mr Dunne arrived at the scene where a team of GMC/Sierra water meter installers were attempting to work but were met by protesters.

Garda Sergeant David Lynch told the court that when he arrived at Parnell Rd, he saw six or seven people interfering with workers. Later on, there were about 30 to 40 protesters there, he said.

Gda Sgt Lynch claimed that he received verbal abuse and was called “fucking scumbag”. He told the court that he, other gardaí, and the GMC/Sierra workers were threatened.

However, he agreed that Mr Dunne was neither abusive nor using foul language, and had not committed an offence. Gda Sgt Lynch added that Mr Dunne had been part of the group.

He told the court a youth threatened him that “they would have a group of 50 to 100 and we would need every car in Crumlin to police it”.

He said some were trespassing in gardens. He said that he asked the group to desist numerous times and was concerned for a lot young women with children who could not get past and had to cross the road.

He spoke to Ms Collins, Mr Dunne, and another councillor “to get some middle ground to let GMC/Sierra workers do their work or leave”, and was told by the TD that “they were entitled to protest and they were not going to move”.

In cross-examination, he agreed with the defence that Ms Collins and Mr Dunne had been co-operative and had not been there at the outset of the protest. At one point, they moved away to discuss the situation.