Limerick couple who have ‘nowhere to go’ convicted over unauthorised mobile home

A MARRIED couple who are living in an unauthorised mobile home on the outskirts of Cappamore have been fined over their failure to comply with an enforcement notice requiring them to leave the site.

Michael Conroy and Teresa Conroy, who say they have nowhere else to go, were prosecuted by the local authority following a complaint that was received more than two-and-a-half years ago.

After a guilty plea was indicated by solicitor David Morris, planning enforcement officer Joe Cahill outlined the facts of the case to Judge Peter White.

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He told Limerick District Court the mobile home is located on a site adjacent to the Bilboa River and that when he first visited the site, he also observed “corrugated sheets” along the boundary, along with a hardcore surface and a bunded tank, which was being used for waste water.

Mr Cahill said the tank was subsequently removed and that a portaloo is now being used by the defendants and their children.

Judge White was informed an enforcement notice was served on the defendants in August 2023 and that they sought retention permission in May 2024 but that this was refused.

Addressing the court, Mr Morris said his clients, who are on the council’s housing list, have nowhere else to go and that they believe there is a house in the Caherconlish area which is “suitable for them”.

Interjecting, solicitor Will Leahy, representing Limerick City and County Council, submitted Mr Morris was attempting to turn what he described as a planning matter “into a housing issue” which it is not.

“This court cannot allocate housing,” he said.

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In reply Mr Morris said: “All I want is for my clients to be given an opportunity to look at the house in Caherconlish.”

While expressing some sympathy for the predicament the Conroys find themselves in, Mr Leahy noted the matter has been “going on for a while”.

He said there has been more than a dozen separate court dates and that the total costs and expenses incurred by the council was more than €4,500.

Addressing the court directly, Teresa Conroy said she was “pleading for a home” and she urged the judge not to direct them to leave - particularly as her children are attending school in the locality.

Having formally convicted the defendants, Judge White imposed a fine of €300 on each of them.

He noted it is open to the local authority to bring another prosecution if they don’t vacate the site and he urged them to “take the opportunity given today”.

No order was made regarding the council’s costs.