Updated 3.15pm

UNITED LEFT TD Joan Collins has appeared before the Criminal Court of Justice this afternoon on charges related to a water protest earlier this year.

The case involving the deputy and 10 others has now been delayed to the 15, 16, and 17 of February for hearing.

The Dublin South-Central TD was arrested on 20 April on Parnell Road, Crumlin at the site of a water meter installation.

She appeared before the court earlier this month when the charge of a public order offence connected to the protest was mentioned.

At today’s hearing in court number 3 it was ordered that CCTV footage of the incident be turned over to the defence.

Protesters accompanying Joan Collins TD outside court today

Speaking to TheJournal.ie outside the court this afternoon, Deputy Collins said that the evidence would be handed over to her solicitor Cahir O’Higgins, who is also representing a number of her co-accused.

“I will say as I said before. We’ve been defending our innocence in relation to making an effective peaceful protest. And we think that it’s a terrible shame that taxpayers’ money is being wasted in relation to going to the court for three days,” said Collins.

Speaking earlier this month O’Higgins said that the protest had been “unusually policed”.

Other cases

Three other people also appeared in court this afternoon over a separate incident in January where it is alleged that President Michael D Higgins was verbally abused.

Separately, Anti-Austerity Alliance TD Paul Murphy appeared before Dublin District Court earlier this month on charges of falsely imprisoning Tánaiste Joan Burton and one of her advisers in Jobstown in November of last year.

He is due back in the Circuit Criminal Court along with 17 others on 14 December when the Book of Evidence is expected to be served.

- First published 8.50am

Comments have been turned off on this article as legal proceedings are ongoing. 

Read: Another TD is being brought to court over a water protest

Also: Republican prisoners complain of living in ‘Victorian’ conditions

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