THE FAMILY of a jailed Co Offaly woman have issued a statement outlining their “extreme” distress at her imprisonment for blocking a power line project.
Teresa Treacy (65) of Clonmore, Tullamore, was jailed on September 13th after repeatedly defying court orders to allow workers to access her land to remove trees.
EirGrid and the ESB had been granted the court orders ahead of the construction of a 110v power line through a forest on Ms Treacy’s land.
However, citing concern over the welfare of her trees, Ms Treacy blocked the workers and was found in contempt at the High Court on September 12th. She was taken to the Dóchas Centre at Mountjoy Prison, where she is expected to remain until she purges her contempt. In a statement yesterday her family said: “The Treacy family is extremely distressed and disappointed that their sister and aunt Teresa remains in jail. Teresa or any other landowner should never be put in jail for a power-line project.
“The family, with the support of the IFA [Irish Farmers’ Association] are working to identify solutions which we hope will lead to the immediate release of Teresa.
“With the help of everybody we hope that all will work together to implement any solutions identified,” the statement concluded.
Separately, protesters picketed an ESB office in Dublin yesterday demanding her release.
“This woman should be freed from jail immediately, with no conditions at all,” said Cormac Lally of the Teresa Treacy Support Group.
Speaking from Mountjoy prison last night Ms Treacy retired she wanted the power lines placed underground. She rejected any suggestion this would be too expensive to undertake.
In a telephone interview with RTÉ's Primetimewhich seemed to have been cut off within minutes of it commencing, she said the women in jail with her were very protective of her. The programme said she was allowed one six minute phone call a day and she used this time yesterday to speak to Miriam O'Callaghan.