Members of council to talk to tree protesters

Members of Wicklow County Council are to meet anti-roads protesters from the Glen of the Downs to arrange a compromise which would result in protesters voluntarily leaving the glen, where they have been camped for 2 1/2 years.

The move comes after the protesters, who recently lost their Supreme Court challenge to the council's road-widening scheme, asked for a meeting with officials through a local Green Party councillor, Ms Deirdre de Burca.

The protesters have indicated that they think a compromise on the development of the road may be achievable.

They asked for a meeting with officials and said that if they could get agreement from the council they would disband their camp.

However, moves to arrange the meeting between the council's officials and the protesters were strongly opposed by some officials and by the Wicklow county manager, Mr Blaise Treacy, who said: "I am not allowing any of my officials to enter into dialogue at this time."

The proposal that officials meet the protesters was also opposed by the council chairman, Mr George Jones, who said what was being offered was a compromise on the road design, not simply arrangements to assist the protesters to leave peacefully.

Mr Jones said more damage had now been done to the glen by the protesters than would be done by the road-widening.

People had been intimidated by the protesters, who had opted eventually to take the judicial route. The council had withdrawn and respected their rights to do so.

"There is no merit now in Wicklow County Council engaging in discussions with these people to come to some sort of reasonable compromise."

He added that the original plan for the road had been the subject of a major compromise with locals and environmentalists before the anti-roads protesters had established their camp.

The Fianna Fail TD for Wicklow, Mr Dick Roche, said he did not believe any good could come from the officials meeting the protesters, who had engaged "in wilful destruction of a beauty spot".

He said any decision to meet the protesters now would be encouraging their efforts to get further publicity. He predicted that any encouragement to the protesters would only ensure that somebody would get hurt when they were eventually removed.

The opportunity of "the last possibility for reasonable compromise", as Ms de Burca called it, was welcomed by some councillors, including the Labour TD for Wicklow, Ms Liz McManus. She said it was a proposal that might just work.

At the conclusion of a council debate, Mr Jones said he would not put the proposal to a vote, as the road scheme, which had been through the planning process and the courts, could not now be changed in any way.

"To do so," he said, "would be to put us back to square one."

Following this, some councillors who had supported Ms de Burca's motion said they would be prepared to meet the protesters to see if any progress could be made.

The councillors are to arrange and hold their meeting by Friday and report back to other members on Monday.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the council's strategy to remove the protesters is to seek eviction orders through the courts. These would be enforced by gardai before any felling of trees.

This strategy would be safer in that it separates the felling of trees from the attempt to remove the protesters from the trees. It would also avoid the possibility of emotive television and newspaper pictures of protesters and falling trees.