A mother of two young children has avoided being sent to jail for contempt of court for not respecting a court order which was made following a row over the quality of the water supply to two Co Limerick parishes.
Orla Kaiser (31), Kildimo, Co Limerick, had faced a possibility of imprisonment after she withdrew an undertaking given a week earlier to the High Court not to interfere with or obstruct Limerick County Council construction work linking up the water supply to the Shannon Estuary scheme.
Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill told Ms Kaiser yesterday that she was the only resident of the five Kildimo-Pallaskenry parishes before him who was not prepared to give the undertaking.
He advised Ms Kaiser that she was creating a "head on collision" for herself with the law.
The communities in Kildimo and Pallaskenry currently get their water supply from Bleach Lough, a spring lake. Limerick County Council wants to upgrade the water supply by connecting the parishes to the Shannon Estuary water scheme, which is supplied by the local River Deel, but that proposal is opposed by the residents.
Mr Justice O'Neill asked Ms Kaiser to consider her position, as a meeting with local residents and the county council was planned for today.
The judge said there may be an opportunity to do something by negotiations and he asked her why "force the issue" and take on a "collateral row" with the court.
Counsel for Limerick County Council said he had been instructed not to to press for the jailing of Ms Kaiser.
After a short adjournment, Ms Kaiser, who has two children, Thaddeus (3) and six-month-old baby Alexander, said she would agree to the adjourning of the case to July 6th if the council gave an undertaking that they would not undertake certain works and, as a gesture of good will, not follow up on legal proceedings.
Mr Justice O'Neill said the court was not a negotiation forum. If the council was not prepared to press for Ms Kaiser's committal to prison and she did not want to go to jail, he would not put her in jail. He adjourned the case until July 6th.
Judicial review proceedings are also to come before the High Court shortly on the matter.
Outside, Ms Kaiser said her concern was the health of her family. The local community wanted to keep their spring water supply and not be put on the mains supply from the river, she said.
Ms Kaiser added that she had only given the undertaking on the previous occasion because her baby was ill.
"I am sticking to my guns in this. We are just an average family who want to keep our water supply. I don't want to have to go to jail but this is an issue of the health of my family."
She said the people of the area had been in negotiation on this issue for the last 15 years.