Kildare man faces prison in Rathangan road row
A High Court judge has warned a Co Kildare man that he faces being sent to prison for being in contempt of court unless he takes steps to remove 300 metres of road that were constructed without planning permission.
Today Mr Justice John Quirke warned Leo Price that he would be jailed unless he complied with a six-year-old court order to remove a road build on land at Feighcullen, Rathangan, Co Kildare.
Kildare Co Council have applied to the court seeking to have Mr Price committed to prison arising out of his failure to comply with an order to remove the roadway and restore the lands to their original condition. That order was made by Mr Justice Quirke in March of 2004.
The Council says that following a number of inspections of the site, "nothing has been done" by Mr Price since the 2004 order was made.
The 300-metre-long road, which has no planning permission and is an unauthorised development, was constructed to access to some 16 sites for housing.
The Council also claimed that while the land had been transferred to another party, it was owned by Mr Price when the order was made and that Mr Price had retained a right of way over the land. The High Court in 2006 dismissed an application to vacate the 2004 order.
Yesterday counsel for Mr Price of Boston Common, Feighcullen, Co Kildare told the court that he was not in a position to remove the road because he now longer owns the land.
Cormac Ó Dúlacháin SC for Mr Price also argued that given the length of time involved that the court did not have jurisdiction to find Mr Price in contempt.
Mr Justice Quirke said he was "not interested" any legal argument made on Mr Price's behalf and was satisfied that he did have jurisdiction to Mr Price in contempt of court.
The judge, who also expressed his concern over the handling of the purported transfer of the lands in question, added that Mr Price had disobeyed an order of the court and was now trying "to pull the wool over my eyes."
The judge said he was prepared to commit Mr Price to prison for being "flagrantly" in contempt of court. However the Judge was prepared to adjourn the matter to next week.
On that occasion the judge said he wanted to wanted to know what steps would be taken by Mr Price to comply with the 2004 order.
