A HIGH Court judge has refused to order an extended Traveller family to move from an unauthorised encampment near the M1 motorway until Dublin City Council provided a suitable alternative site for them.
Mr Justice Michael Peart was ruling on a request by the council for final orders in proceedings brought by the council against the 100-member Gavin family.
The council had asked the judge to order the Gavins to move their 30 caravans from their existing location near the motorway to a site at St Dominick’s Park, Belcamp, about 2.4km (1½ miles) away.
The application arose in proceedings initiated by the council last year to prevent alleged trespass by the Gavin family at the 42-acre former Dublin Port Tunnel works site near the junction of Oscar Traynor Road and the M1/N32. While admitting they did not have permission to be on the land, the Gavins denied they were trespassing and said they had safety concerns about returning to St Dominick’s Park, where they previously lived for some 20 years. They said they had to leave that site due to a violent feud with another Traveller family, the McDonoughs.
Last December, Mr Justice Peart urged talks between the sides to resolve the dispute. He added that, until alternative accommodation was provided for the family, he would not make any order requiring them to vacate the MI site.
When the case was mentioned again yesterday, Conleth Bradley SC, for the council, asked the judge to make final orders in the case. The Gavins, despite numerous requests, had not indicated if they would go to the site at St Dominick’s and the council had to know if they intended to go there before it could begin carrying out expensive work on what was a temporary unserviced site, he argued.
Counsel said the Gavins were in effect “vetoing” a move back to St Dominick’s because they wanted assurances on security concerns arising from their dispute with the McDonoughs.
Security was an issue for the Garda and not the council and he was aware the Gavins and gardaí had met to discuss it.
He also said the council had received letters from people living near to the Gavins’s encampment alleging rubbish was being dumped in areas close to the site, children were being intimidated by other children and older people were afraid to leave their homes.
John O’Donnell SC, for the Gavins, strenuously opposed the making of any order compelling them to return to St Dominick’s where, he said, they would have to stand “cheek to jowl” with the McDonoughs. Counsel said the Gavins had been shot at and burned out of St Dominick’s and had concerns about their safety.
The council should provide them with an alternative site. It was believed other sites were available, counsel added. Mr O’Donnell said he would also need to take instructions from his clients before his side could reply to the council’s letter outlining allegations against them, which, he added, was sent on Christmas Eve.
Mr Justice Peart, in refusing to make any order, said he did not think the situation was any better than last December.
If he made a final order and the Gavins refused to go to St Dominick’s, “where would they have to go?” he asked. He also refused Mr Bradley’s application to make an order and put a stay on it and adjourned the matter to early March.