Slurry sentence is a sad joke - The Land Of No Consequences

EVEN in this, The Land Of No Consequences, yesterday’s sentencing of pig farmer Donal Connaughton in Longford District Court stands out as a spectacular affront.

Connaughton was jailed for ten weeks and fined €3,000 with €5,400 in costs, but as he has “no resources” and is living on social welfare the fines may not be paid. How long he will spend in jail is anyone’s guess but it will be measured in weeks — if not days — rather than years.

The cowboy farmer, labelled “an absolute disgrace”, was responsible for the creation of an “environmental time bomb” when he allowed something around four million gallons of pig slurry accumulate in tanks, many of them illegally built. Slurry has already escaped into a nearby lake. That authorities were unable to intervene to prevent this point being reached raises questions and if a change in the law is needed to strengthen their hand to stop barbarians such as Connaughton then the sooner the better.

The convicted farmer has “walked away from the problem” and there are first and second charges on the property so the bill for this vandalism will fall to the public purse. Estimates suggest it will run to six figures. In reality his jail term should be measured in years and his welfare payments curtailed until fines are paid. A sentence imposed by our courts is supposed to be a sanction and a deterrent. In this appalling case it has failed utterly in both objectives.