Arhlone Live!Anti-social behaviour is a big problem everywhere these days, including Waterford, and the matter was addressed last week by Judge John Neilan, a man who often features in the media for his outspoken comments.
Speaking in Tullamore District Court, he said he was frustrated by the failure of his exclusion orders to have the desired effect – mainly because they are not being served on the defendants in question!
For people who mightn’t know what an exclusion order is, it is a device often used by judges to prevent troublesome individuals from frequenting specific public houses or from loitering around certain areas such as fast-foot outlets. For instance, a person might only be fined on condition that they comply with a court order not to frequent a particular public house.
But an angry Judge Neilan claimed he had been issuing such orders for three years yet, to date, not one of them had been served. Consequently, he had come to the conclusion that they were not worth the paper they were written on and he would not be making any more.
However, the Judge is not a man to be denied so he has embarked on a different course of action. Dealing with a defendant convicted of a public order offence in Tullamore on June 30th. last, he imposed a fine of €600 and sentenced the man to five months in prison. However, he put a stay on the commencement of the sentence until December 20th. and released the man on bail until that date on condition that he does not frequent any licensed premises. Presumably, if the defendant stays out of trouble, the Judge will then suspend the sentence in December.
It will be interesting to see how Judge Neilan’s ‘crusade’ works out and, if it does, will other judges follow suit?
– Munster Express Opinion Aug 2006
