The High Court refused a homeowner’s application for injunctions against Irish Water over a water meter and cover installed on the public footpath outside his Mullingar property. The court found the installation was outside the property’s boundaries and that the evidence did not establish that the meter cover was defective or posed a substantial risk of danger.
Mr Justice O’Regan delivered the judgment on 15 March 2016, after hearing the motion on 10 March. Dermot Murphy, who represented himself, had sought orders to prevent trespass, stop installation of equipment he described as defective, and prevent installation of a water meter near his property. He also sought restoration of the property and costs.
Murphy’s complaints included that the meter cover could prevent a fully laden coal truck from entering his property, and that third parties might access the meter and contaminate his water supply. He argued that the grade C cover did not comply with specified British and European standards and a Department of the Environment circular. He submitted eight affidavits, but no expert evidence supporting his claims. He relied in part on a newspaper report and an anonymous email, which the judge treated as hearsay and insufficient to counter the defendant’s expert evidence.
Irish Water disputed the claims. Its evidence included a report by consulting engineer Edward Fitzgerald, who said the grade C installation was suitable for a public highway and met relevant requirements. The court noted that the initial cover, installed in June 2014, was found broken on 2 March 2015 and replaced within a day. Laboratory manager Brian O’Brien attributed the break to blunt trauma rather than a vehicle passing over it. The replacement remained in place without reported damage or adverse health or safety effects.
The court found that the meter was on the footpath outside the property’s curtilage and that no works had been carried out on Murphy’s property. It also found the circular relied on by Murphy was guidance, not a directive to Irish Water, and did not address grade C installations. The judge said Murphy had not shown the substantial risk of danger required for the requested injunction against a possible future nuisance.
Murphy told the court he was no longer pursuing his trespass claim. The judge said there was in any event no evidence of trespass. The court refused the relief sought concerning defective equipment and the requested injunction against installing a meter. The judgment also recorded Murphy’s admission that he had removed the meter and returned it to Irish Water, which the judge described as a criminal offence under the Water Services Act 2007.