A Donegal man charged with breaching a barring order has been “lost in the system”, a court has been told.
The man, who is currently in custody at Castlerea Prison, was brought before Letterkenny District Court this week.
He was charged with an offence contrary to section 33 of the Domestic Violence Act 2018 in that he contravened a barring order.
The court heard that the matter was complicated somewhat in that the barring order related to his parents, with whom he resided.
The man’s parents were present in court. A victim impact statement on an incident which occurred on a date in April, was not forthcoming.
Mr Patsy Gallagher, solicitor for the man, said this isn’t a situation where people have been wasting garda time.
“We are dealing with a young man who is very unwell,” Mr Gallagher told the court. “He has been lost in the system and there is no help coming to them, which is a crying shame.
“The gardai are acting as social workers. I don’t know what you or anyone can do, Judge.”
Judge Éiteáin Cunningham said she had to deal with the matter as it appeared in front of her.
A guilty plea to the charge was tendered.
Sergeant Jim Collins told the court that the man himself reported a disturbance. When gardai arrived at the scene, it became apparent that a barring order was in place.
The man was intoxicated at the time. In light of the existence of the barring order, gardai arrested him, brought him to the station and charged him.”
The man has four previous convictions, all of which arise from the same incident last year. The charges included two of assault causing harm, obstructing a peace officer and breaching a safety order. Then, he was given a suspended sentence of 12 months in prison.
Judge Cunningham said there was “quite serious previous”.
Judge Cunningham accepted the evidence of the man’s father, but said the charge had to be dealt with as it was presented.
Notwithstanding there was an acquiescence with the parents allowing him to be in the house, the accused man was aware that an order was in place which he had to abide by.
Judge Cunningham convicted the man and sentenced him to one month in jail, with the term backdated until April 22, 2025 when he went into custody.
Bail was revoked for a short period in relation to the suspended sentence. A section 99 hearing over the suspended element of the previous sentence.
The man’s father subsequently told Judge Cunningham that he wished for the barring order not to be in place.
He told the court that his son needed mental health support.
“Castlerea is not really for him,” he said. “He needs to be sectioned because he is bipolar”.
Judge Cunningham noted his position, and that of his wife who was also present in court, and vacated the order. She stressed that the matter of a medical condition was one for a medical professional rather than the court.