THE company behind Ireland's €600m electricity interconnector took a High Court injunction to shut down a community protest last week after gardaí were forced to step in and stall contractors.

EirGrid, the state organisation, said it was left with no choice but to seek court support in preventing further demonstrations as delays were costing the company €100,000 a day, a cost that would be passed on to consumers.

Local concerns surrounding health and safety and disruption to business sparked a demonstration of around 100 people last Wednesday, forcing gardaí to request a temporary delay.

EirGrid insisted it had done everything to appease concerns and said that, once completed, the infrastructure would allow Ireland to sell off excess energy supply and secure overall savings of some €66m a year. It was also an important step towards reaching government targets of 40% renewable energy by 2020, it said.

The interconnector, which will run across the Irish Sea from Wales, should be up and running by 2012 and will open the market to competition as a result of Ireland's access to foreign markets in the UK and Europe.

EirGrid sought and received planning permission through An Bord Pleanála but assurances on safety about electrical cables, and specifically electro magnetic fields, have been rejected by residents in Rush, Co Dublin. "We want to see an independent report," said Dave Sheehy, a local father of one who was among the demonstrators. "If this were in a field it wouldn't be a problem, but it's less than two metres from people's front doors."