Judge issues full apology after threat of Garda complaint

The judge who likened the social welfare system to a “Polish charity” yesterday issued a full apology after one group threatened to lodge an official complaint with gardaí.

A formal complaint was to have been lodged with gardaí at Pearse St station in Dublin by the Integration Centre over the remarks made last Friday by Judge Mary Devins in the District Court in Castlebar, Co Mayo.

The organisation had also asked Judge Devins to either explain herself or consider her position after labelling her initial apology “rambling, contrived, and spurious”.