€15,000 awarded to Garda dog handler who lost his hearing

The High Court has awarded €15,000 in damages to a garda dog handler after finding that his deafness as a result of "constant barking" from garda dogs under his control.

Today Mr Justice John Quirke found that Garda dog handler Thomas Donnelly (aged 55), who is 'profoundly deaf' and has to wear hearing aids, had suffered a serious "permanent and irreversible injury in the course of the employment by the State."