A SENSE of balance and proportion should inform the behaviour of large and powerful companies when their activities impact negatively on the public. That fine judgment appears to have been lacking when Eirgrid and the ESB applied to the High Court this week for the imprisonment of 65-year-old Teresa Treacy because she had denied them access to her land at Clonmore, Tullamore, to build a power line.
The controversy has been brewing for years. Formal permissions for the power line were granted to the ESB in 1998 and initially, company representatives were allowed on to the farm. By last July, however, Ms Treacy had placed locked gates; had refused entrance to workmen and was demanding that the power line be placed underground “to preserve her beautiful trees that would otherwise be destroyed”.
The companies went to the High Court in July and secured orders granting them permission to carry out the work. The case was back before the High Court in August when Ms Justice Mary Laffoy warned the defendant of the consequences of her continued obstruction and hoped that common sense would prevail. However, Ms Treacy told local gardaí she would go to jail rather than allow the work to proceed.
In those circumstances, a review by State agencies of their approach and a conciliation process might have helped. The option of underground cabling was still available, as perhaps was a less intrusive and destructive path through the affected woodland. Anxiety by Eirgrid to avoid the cabling option is understandable, given the additional costs involved and the precedent it might set for other landowners.
Setting a precedent, however, might have been less damaging to the companies than the creation in the public mind of a tree-loving victim. The authorities’ zeal in applying the law to Ms Treacy is all the more conspicuous in view of the fact that nobody has yet been brought to justice for the reckless behaviour in the financial industry that has left such a trail of destruction throughout society.
ESB and Eirgrid are held in high regard because of the services they perform in generating and supplying vital electrical power. Eirgrid is required by law to develop, operate and maintain a safe, efficient and economic transmission system, while having due regard to the environment. Underground cabling is more expensive and difficult to maintain than overhead wires. It is only used in exceptional cases. The law is firmly on their side.
For all of these reasons, the companies applied for the jailing of Ms Treacy because she continued to obstruct the installation of five wooden poles and one steel mast on her land. Of the 84 landowners involved, she is the only one to have refused access. She is clearly a single-minded woman who feels her rights and her love of trees have counted for nothing.
The court had no option but to grant the committal order. But she should not remain in jail. There are times when company rules and regulations should be revisited. This is one of them.