A temporary High Court injunction has been granted to a company building emergency accommodation facilities in Co Kildare for hundreds of Ukrainian refugees, restraining protesters from blocking the entrances to the site.
The action has been brought by Total Experience Limited, trading as Pastures New Accommodation, which is constructing facilities at Newhall, Naas, Co Kildare for families fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.
The firm claims its work is being hampered by those opposed to the State's provision of accommodation for displaced people, mounting a 24-hour "blockade" of the site's main entrances.
The company claims that in recent days up to 50 protesters have been preventing people and vehicles from entering or leaving the site by using tactics such as forming "a human shield" and by parking cars in front of the site's entrances.
These alleged activities amount to a nuisance and an unreasonable interference with the company's work, it claims.
The protesters have no legitimate basis for blocking the site, it further alleges.
Obstruction
On Thursday, Mr Justice Mark Sanfey said he was prepared to grant the applicant a temporary injunction, on an ex-parte basis, restraining two of the alleged protesters, Noreen O'Shea and Jessica McLoughlin, from deliberately preventing or obstructing entrances from the site.
The interim order is also against 'persons unknown' who are also alleged to be obstructing the entrances.
The firm, which has been contracted by the State to provide 985 beds in 387 cabins, as well as a dining marquee, laundry and recreation facilities at the site, claims the protesters' actions are hampering its efforts to complete its work on time.
The facility, the court heard, is 90 per cent complete and is due to be ready by early March. The actions of the protesters, the company claims, may result in the facility not being operational on time.
Seeking the injunction, Gary McCarthy SC, appearing with Barry Mansfield Bl for the plaintiff, said his client was not attempting to interfere with anyone's lawful right to peacefully protest. However, the blocking of the entrances is not lawful and creates a safety risk, counsel added.
Counsel said the blockade commenced on Tuesday, February 27th, when some 50 people prevented vehicles from entering the site.
The only way workers could leave the site was due to intervention by gardaí, the court was told.
The protesters have acted in an aggressive and intimidating manner, counsel added.
Alleged abuse
It is claimed that some of the foreign workers at the site were racially abused, while Irish workers were referred to as "traitors" by the protesters.
Counsel said they have only been able to identify two of the protesters at the site, Ms O'Shea and Ms McLoughlin.
In addition, Ms O'Shea has been involved in another protest against the project, the court heard, while Ms McLoughlin has been active on social media platforms, including a Facebook group called 'Kildare Says No'.
Many of the protesters at the site have covered their faces using balaclavas and have not been identified, counsel explained.
He added that his client is also concerned about aggressive social media posts made by various people regarding the protest.
One post stated: "All them trucks need is (fire emoji)", while another stated: "(Four fire emojis) only solution man!"
"Put barrels at the entrance and make fires in them. Big fires," one post read, while another said: "Put a few nails through timber and lay it down in front of the truck tyres."
Counsel said his client is fearful that matters may escalate, noting that other buildings have been burnt after they were earmarked for refugee accommodation.
Mr Justice Sanfey said he accepted the matter is urgent, and said he was prepared to grant a temporary injunction.
The matter was made returnable to next week's sitting of the court. However, the judge said that given the dynamic of the situation, the parties were free to return to court before then should the need arise.
