A former senior civil servant has been jailed for 16 months for defrauding the taxpayer out of nearly €17,000.

A Swords man who attempted to rob his local video store armed with a butter knife shortly after he had been granted bail on two charges of burglary has been given a four-year sentence by Judge Tony Hunt.

A man who committed robberies which his own defence counsel described as "chilling" will be sentenced on June 20, 2005 at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Two women went to the flat of men they met after a night of drinking and left the door on the latch so their boyfriends could rob the place, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court was told.