Teenagers detained after paper factory destroyed in arson attack

Two teenagers involved in what a judge said was “wanton destruction” of a factory, resulting in millions of euro in damage and the loss of 24 jobs, yesterday got custodial detention sentences.

The two were aged 14 and 16 at the time and admitted arson to the Dawn Paper and Tissue manufacturing factory, Donore Rd Industrial Estate, Drogheda, September 12, 2015.

Dundalk Circuit Court heard that 45 firefighters were involved in tackling the blaze.

The cost of the building was put at €2.3m, lost stock at just over €1m, and to replace machinery was put at €4.5m. The fire resulted in the business, run by the McEnteggart family from Duleek, Co Meath, laying off all 24 staff and it lost contracts for supermarkets worth €4m.

The court heard that, at 9.10pm, there was an alert about an intruder and individuals were seen at the end of the factory car park.

It then appeared rocks and bottles were thrown at the building and gardaí were alert. The court heard the security system issued three audible warnings but these were ignored.

Three people went into the factory and grabbed boxes of paper. One witness told gardaí that the 14-year-old had said “let’s get a big fire going”. When the 14-year-old was questioned by gardaí if he knew anything about the fire, he replied: “I did it”. He said he broke a window with a rock and he indicated to gardaí that he had used a lighter to start the fire.

The 16-year-old had said he added paper to the fire. He had also co-operated with gardaí and had no intention of burning the building down.

Gillian McEnteggart, company secretary, told an earlier hearing that every penny the family had had gone into the business.

Judge Karen O’Connor said probation reports assessed the teens as at high risk of re-offending. The 14-year-old used drugs, was involved in antisocial behaviour, and his mother had difficulty controlling him. He had ADHD, learning difficulties, and was substance-dependent.

The 16-year-old had minimised his drug addiction and the loss of his mother at a young age had a devastating impact on him, the probation report said.

Passing sentence, the judge said the offenders had received “a number of audible warnings and disregarded them”.

The arson was “wanton destruction,” and they had known it was a paper factory. There was a high degree of recklessness.

She imposed three years detention on both, with the last 12 months suspended for 12 months.