Rossport Five face crippling legal bill
07/04/2006 - 13:38:34
The president of the High Court today ordered the Rossport Five to pay the legal costs to Shell following their contempt of court over their Corrib Gas pipeline protest.
Judge Joseph Finnegan said that although the court had the right to punish the men for refusing to comply with the court order not to obstruct the construction of the pipeline across their land in County Mayo, he had decided not to impose a jail sentence.
He said he was having regarded to the time the men had spent in prison (94 days) and the disadvantages that three of them continued to suffer while they were in contempt.
But Judge Finnegan said he was making an order for the costs in the case, which could run into hundreds of thousands of euros to be awarded to Shell.
