Court dispute between farmer and contractor

JUDGE Gerard Haughton was given a lesson in the value of director and proprietor of the straw as he heard one side of limited company which bears the evidence in a dispute between his name. two former agricultural He told the court that he had business colleagues. business dealings with farmer

The judge returned from a John Cullen over many years. lunch hosted by members of The judge heard that Cullen the Wexford legal profession had driven machinery for to mark his appointment to Roche and that Roche had let the Special Criminal Court land from Cullen. in Dublin ready to deal with The pair ended up in dispute the matter of Pat Roche Contracting over how much Cullen’s services Limited of Clonmines as a driver were worth. in Wellingtonbridge versus He claimed €16 per hour John Cullen from Maxboley in while Roche calculated €10 per Ballymitty. hour was the going rate.

Civil engineering and agricultural The value of the land letting contractor Roche came was also disputed, with owner to the courthouse in Ardcavan Cullen basing his figures on looking for €8,658 from Cullen, €150 per acre per year, while who reckoned that he was the Roche suggested €120 per acre one owed money, to the tune was nearer the mark for what of €6,741. he called ‘marginal tillage land’.

First into the witness box Matters came to a head in was Pat Roche who acknowledged August that 2014 whenhe is Roche managingcame to clear the straw from a field belonging to Cullen on which he had grown corn.

He had agreed to supply the straw to Biotricity as fuel but the landowner wanted it as bedding for his cattle.

At one stage, Roche recalled, he blocked the gate of the field with his jeep and the gardaí were called.

They persuaded him to remove the jeep and go to have a word with his solicitor, leading eventually to the civil proceedings being considered by the court.

By the time Pat Roche had finished giving evidence, the time was 6 p.m. and the judge adjourned for a month to the civil sitting of June 23 without hearing from John Cullen.

Both sides were promised that the case will be given priority on that date.