Protester had ‘no grounds’ to stop water meter installation

An anti-water charges protester produced “entirely insufficient” evidence to support his claims that a plastic cover installed by Irish Water over a meter box outside his home was defective, a High Court judge has ruled.

About 600,000 such covers have been installed.

Dermot Murphy had also failed to substantiate claims of a risk of damage to himself and his family due to the alleged ease with which the Grade C plastic cover could be removed and the meter tampered with, Ms Justice Miriam O’Regan held.

Having rejected those and other claims advanced by Mr Murphy, the judge ruled he had made out no grounds entitling him to various permanent injunctions, including restraining Irish Water installing a water meter on or near his property.

The judge previously heard Mr Murphy dug up a water meter on the pavement outside his home at The Park, Lake Point Park, Mullingar, and sent it to Irish Water with an invoice.

After the judge gave her decision, Cian Ferriter SC, for Irish Water, sought costs against Mr Murphy who said he intended to appeal. The judge said Irish Water was entitled to its costs but she stayed the costs order pending any appeal.

In her decision, Ms Justice O’Regan said there was “uncontroverted expert evidence” before her, from an engineer who prepared a report for Irish Water, to the effect the Grade C covers are fit for purpose and suitable for the area outside Mr Murphy’s home.

Hearsay evidence

Mr Murphy had adduced no expert evidence to support his claims and relied on hearsay evidence arising from an Irish Mail on Sunday article apparently about Irish Water upgrading a cover installed adjacent to a third party's property, plus an anonymous email to the Commission for Energy Regulation alleging the Grade C boxes were far too weak.

This evidence was “entirely insufficient” to refute the engineer’s evidence, the judge held.

The height of Mr Murphy’s claim of an adverse impact on him from the disputed covers was his complaint that a fully laden coal truck cannot cross the meter to come onto his property, she said.

There was no evidence to support Mr Murphy’s claims Irish Water trespassed on his property when installing the meter or that the old cast iron water main cover outside his property, which was replaced with the plastic cover, comprised his property.

While Mr Murphy had argued a Circular letter issued in March 2009 by the Department of the Environment to local authorities and others was a “directive to Irish Water”, that Circular was issued before Irish Water was established and did not deal at all with Grade C covers, she said.

Mr Murphy had, by his own admission, committed a criminal offence in the removal of the water meter installed outside his home in June 2014, the judge noted.

While Mr Murphy complained the plastic cover installed on the meter box outside his home was broken, a technical manager who inspected the cover found the break was caused by blunt force trauma rather than damage resulting from a vehicle crossing it, she added.