Courts

Garda ‘manning issues’ delay execution of court order for man’s arrest over alleged trespass

Glen Oglesby, who claims he has nowhere else to go, has been living in caravan on ESB-owned substation site in Dublin’s north inner city

The ESB says the substation site at Gloucester Place Upper in Dublin’s north inner city is unsafe for human habitation. Photograph: PA Wire
Fri May 31 2024 - 18:33

Garda “manning issues” mean an order for the arrest of a man allegedly trespassing at an electricity substation cannot be executed until next week, the High Court heard.

Mr Justice Mark Sanfey on Wednesday ordered the arrest of Glen Oglesby who claimed he had been living in a caravan on the ESB-owned substation site at Gloucester Place Upper in Dublin’s north inner city because he had nowhere else to go.

The ESB says it is unsafe for human habitation and sought the arrest order over Mr Oglesby’s continuing failure to obey an earlier order that he remove the caravan.

The case returned before the judge on Friday when John Punch SC, for the ESB, said gardaí have said the order would not be processed until next week “due to manning issues”.

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Garda Supt Cormac Brennan, of Store Street station, was in court to explain the position if the judge wanted to hear from him, Mr Punch said. However, the judge said he did not see the point because the Garda Commissioner was saying it is an operational matter.

He added that he wished to say he was “a little disappointed” that his order would not be acted on until next week.

Mr Punch said Mr Oglesby, who has not appeared in court since he did so first on May 3rd, had been given “a huge amount of leeway” and every opportunity provided to him to remove his caravan. The “ball now was firmly in the Garda Commissioner’s court”, he said.

The judge said his concern was that this site was dangerous and it was not the normal trespass that the court deals with.