Justice system - Vulnerable people are most at risk

THE bizarre tale of a man who was incarcerated because he failed to pay a €12 dog licence is a damning comment on the inconsistencies of the court system.

Unskilled and long-term unemployed David Gartlan was summoned to appear in court by Louth County Council but failed to turn up and was fined €250. He ended up in Mountjoy, the country’s toughest jail, where he spent four days before being transferred to Shelton Abbey, an open prison in Co Wicklow.

It is shocking that nobody intervened before that happened. Surely a solution could have been worked out between the courts, the gardaí and the social services.

In stark contrast, we cite the case of a man who stole a car with three children in it and received a suspended sentence. In another case, a man caught with 179 images of children downloaded from the internet received a suspended sentence and a company director, whose firm defrauded a bank of over €1m also walked free from court. In the eyes of the law, it seems, the most vulnerable in society are most at risk.