Court rejects bail application from building contractor

The Court of Criminal Appeal has today dismissed an application for bail made on behalf of a Dublin building contractor jailed after evading almost €500,000 in tax during an eight-year period.

Earlier this month Colm Perry, of Nephin Road, Dublin, was sentenced to 20 months without suspension by Judge Martin Nolan at Dublin’s Circuit Criminal Court.

Today the three Judge CCA of Mr Justice Adrian Hardiman presiding sitting with Mr Justice Roderick Murphy and Mr Justice Peter Charleton turned down an application made on Mr Perry's behalf to be granted bail pending the outcome of his appeal against the severity of that sentence.

Lawyers on Mr Perry's behalf had argued that he should be granted bail on grounds including that the appeal has a strong chance of success, that the sentencing Judge had not fully taken into account that Mr Perry had settled a tax liability of €499,998 and that the majority if not all of the sentence would be served before the appeal was heard by the CCA.

The DPP had opposed Mr Perry being granted bail.

Mr Justice Hardiman said that this was not a case where the CCA could grant bail.

The court ordered that the transcript of the sentencing hearing be made available, and that everything possible be done to find an early date for the hearing of the appeal.

Dublin Circuit Court heard that Mr Perry settled a tax liability of €499,998 with the Revenue Commissioners, but interest and penalties of €925,000 are still outstanding.

The 44-year-old pleaded guilty to multiple breaches of tax law, including the failure to declare or pay VAT and income tax between 1996 and 2005.

His tax irregularities came to the attention of the Revenue in 2004 when one of his clients, Windmill Lane Pictures Ltd, tried to reclaim VAT he had charged on an invoice for building work.