A 40-year-old man, with a history of breaching barring orders, is to serve 10 months in jail after being brought before Galway District Court on two further counts of contravening a barring order with a district court judge warning that “the joke is over”.
Judge Mary Fahy warned that repeat breaches of barring orders and the waste of Garda time would not be tolerated by the court and that Francis Barrett of 1 St Nicholas Park, Doughiska, had used up his last chance.
Barrett was charged with contravening a safety order by entering the family home while intoxicated and putting his wife in fear by acting in an aggressive manner on January 10, 2012, and contravening a safety order by putting his wife and children in fear on April 30, 2012.
The court heard that on April 30, 2012, at 9.15pm gardai responded to a domestic dispute, but they could not gain access to the house as the defendant had locked both doors. The defendant’s terrified wife had locked herself and their five children in a bedroom and gardai finally managed to gain access through a window. Barrett was found in a very intoxicated state and did not co-operate.
Defence solicitor Sarah O’Dowd said that her client had previously been receiving treatment for his problems but that there were some difficulties with another person and he had to leave the programme. However, there was hope that the defendant, who has apologised to his wife, could return to the programme.
Inspector Ernie Whyte told the court that Barrett as 61 previous convictions, four of which were for breaching a barring order. The court then heard that in September 2010 a four month suspended sentence was imposed.
“Unfortunately I have shown too much leniency to this man but his chances have run out,” said Judge Fahy to which Ms O’Dowd explained the defendant’s wife, did not want him to get a lengthy jail sentence.
Judge Fahy said that when a person breaches a barring order again and again her duty is to the public, and to ensure that that the defendant is not wasting gardai’s time again and again. “I have spoken to him numerous times. It is a joke, and the joke is over,” said Judge Fahy.
The four month suspended sentence for the previous conviction was reactivated and Barrett was then convicted in relation to the new charges and sentenced to a further six months in jail, to run consecutively. The sentences were backdated to May 1, 2012, and leave to appeal was granted.
