Three protesters await High Court contempt ruling

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

A High Court decision on alleged contempt by three anti-water charge protesters was due on Wednesday morning, with jail or fines among the possible sanctions. Mr Justice Paul Gilligan was to determine whether the men had breached a court order and what sanctions should follow, if any. The proceedings were reported on 24 November 2014.

GMC Sierra, which was installing water meters, accused four men of breaching the order. It prohibited them from approaching within 20 metres of the company's work stations or interfering with its vehicles' entrance or exit.

The company's lawyers argued that video recordings and oral testimony established beyond reasonable doubt that three men had breached the order in Dublin 13 on 11 November. The men's lawyers said GMC Sierra had failed to authenticate the video properly. The protesters denied taking part in unlawful behaviour.

The application against the remaining man was struck out. The judge found that he had not received proper service of the legal documents required for attachment and committal, so the company's application against him did not proceed.