Three unemployed Dublin bricklayers jailed two weeks ago for contempt of court orders restraining picketing of a building site in Ballybrack were freed by the High Court yesterday after they purged their contempt by undertaking not to picket the site.
Andrew Clarke, Cromlech Fields, Ballybrack; Keith Kelly, Ashlawn Park, Ballybrack; and William McClurg, Sallynoggin, were jailed on February 10th on the application of Collen Construction Ltd after the company complained they had breached orders restraining picketing of the Collen site at Ballybrack.
They three appeared again before Ms Justice Mary Laffoy yesterday and undertook, on oath, that they would not picket the site or block access to it. Supporters of the men were in court for the brief hearing and applauded them. Collen Construction was not represented at the hearing.
The judge said the men had learned the lesson that court orders must be obeyed. The men had purged their contempt and she would direct their release.
It remained unclear after the hearing, however, whether picketing of the company's sites would continue next week.
A spokesman for Collen Construction welcomed the release of the three men and said the company hoped that normal operations at its sites could now resume.
Picketers have claimed that sub-contractors on Collen sites are not paying legal minimum rates. This is denied by Collen Construction.
Pickets have forced the closure of its site at Ballybrack, where Collen is building 77 houses for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, while work at two other Collen sites, UCD and the Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery at Parnell Square, has been disrupted by daily protests.
At least some of those involved in the protests are members of the Building and Allied Trades' Union (Batu), although the union itself says it is not in dispute with the company.
Batu official Denis Farrell said yesterday that he did not know whether pickets would continue but, as far as he was aware, there had been no resolution of the issues.
The Construction Industry Federation has called for an end to the pickets.