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FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS of a 65-year-old woman jailed for refusing to allow the ESB to build a power line across her land will mount a protest outside Mountjoy Prison tomorrow.
Teresa Treacy, from Offaly, was sent to prison last week for defying a court order allowing contractors for ESB and Eirgrid to carry out work on her property. She objected to the power line because it would mean felling a substantial number of trees growing on her land at Clonmore, near Tullamore, and said the lines should be routed underground instead.
She will not be released until she purges her contempt of court – meaning allowing the work to be carried out and making an apology – or until the ESB requests that she be freed.
A spokesperson for the Teresa Treacy Support Group, which is organising the protest, told TheJournal.ie that Ms Treacy will not go back on her protest. “I got a call from Teresa in jail on Saturday. She said she has no intention of purging her contempt and she wants people to come out and support her,” he said.
The injustice is that the ESB have refused to follow European best practice in regard to the undergrounding of power lines. This was a compromise offered by Teresa Treacy as far back as 2007, but the ESB refused to budge. They have bullied an elderly lady and ultimately jailed her. It’s totally unacceptable that an elderly lady should be jailed for trying to protect a natural resource on her own land.
He said he hoped for a good turnout at the protest, which will take place tomorrow at 6pm outside the Dóchas Centre at Mountjoy, where Ms Treacy is being held. “There will be friends and neighbours of Teresa, and we’ve also been getting calls of support from people around the country,” he said.
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Not that much of a mystery, the appellant shares an office address with a national cinema operator, who would be well known in the industry. Whats going on with the non-existent company name on the objection letter is anyone’s guess, but I think the origin is obvious enough.
@Rochey77: Zero sympathy for any REIT. Pay very little Tax, purchased 95% of apartments last year and as a result not allowing first time buyers get onto the property ladder. And increasing the rental prices
@Whoswho: Green REIT portfolio has zero residential.
Just throw out the planning laws and start again. If you want to object to any development what so ever the burden of proof needs to be on the objector to satisfactorily demonstrate that the development will have a material negative effect on existing property, quality of life or success of business, with obvious exceptions such as competition not being a valid reason.
Our planning system is tedious, slow, costly and regardless of the size of the project it just takes one hoop one the other side of the country to delay the whole thing by years and end up in the high court.
I’d go so far as to say frivolous and malicious objections should be a criminal offense.
@Sean Fahey: hear hear
Was it not someone in Wicklow objecting to Apples planned development in Galway a few years ago and we wonder why everything takes forever ……
@Sean Higgins: And said Wicklow based objector also had land in their native county, which they were trying to build their own data centre on…..
@Stephen Small: And said objector drinks the odd time in Delgany village and is hissed at and reviled
@Stephen Small: Imagine that. No conflict of interests at all. Pretty sure that’s not why we have a planning system, for rivals to object under fake names.
@Sean Higgins: They were from Cork and proved that every man and woman in Ireland would end up paying carbon tax on the electricity they use. We have more data centres per person in Ireland cause we are so kind.
Amazing. One objector stops this, yet hundreds couldn’t stop development at St Anne’s Park?
@Al Moore: one objection has not stopped it, just put an obstacle in its way. It would only be stopped if An Bord Pleanála refuses it. Besides, planning issues are not a vote. It doesn’t matter how many people object, if there is no planning reason to refuse something it won’t be refused.
@Al Moore: I thought there was a shortage of places to live in Dublin? These apartments are being built beside St Anne’s Park, not inside it.
An taisce special agent?
This was how people would extort money out of developers back in the 80s.
No descision until April? For crying out loud, there must be some way of speeding up this kind of process. A fake objection and a 5 month wait is nonsense.
Picture This
….
What’s the mystery? It’s IMC, who own the Savoy.
“Second Troika” needed to sort the “Planning HSE” …. “Official Objectors” …
Jail if you build your own house …. Breanndan Begley – Kerry
https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2020/0219/1116382-breanndan-begley-kerry/
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