Court turns down man's bid to have driving ban on Offaly farmland lifted

A MAN'S application to have a driving prohibition lifted failed at Tullamore District Court but will be considered again next week.

The 33-year-old, who cannot be named by order of the court, is on bail accused of several offences, including damaging garda property, making threats to a relative and five counts of dangerous driving.

After being in custody from December 18 last, Judge Andrew Cody granted him bail on January 28 but among the bail conditions is a prohibition on him driving. Gardai had opposed the granting of bail.

The accused is being remanded from week to week while a book of evidence is being prepared and on February 4 counsel for the man, David Nugent, BL, sought a variation of the bail conditions so the man would be allowed to drive on farmland to better facilitate his work.

The accused is also on a curfew, must undergo drugs tests, must stay at least 500 metres away from a particular residence and must reside at an address agreed with the gardai.

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Consideration of lifting the prohibition on driving was adjourned for a week for the production of a map or aerial photograph of the land holding, also showing the location of alleged offences.

When the case came before the court again on Wednesday (February 11) Mr Nugent said the application to allow the man drive was to enable him to work on farmland while also assisting with his mental health.

The barrister told Judge Andrew Cody the driving would be confined to private property.

A garda objected to the man being permitted to drive, saying that while four charges of dangerous driving against him related to public roads, one was on land close to the alleged victim of threats.

The garda said he had been given a document which outlined maps of land boundaries and there would only be “a ditch” between land where the accused could be and property of the alleged threat victim.

Mr Nugent said there was a further 435 metres from the ditch to the home of the alleged victim.

The garda told the court the accused had been complying with the bail conditions and the court was also told the book of evidence will be ready next week and it is expected the accused will be sent forward to the sitting of Tullamore Circuit Court on April 14.

Judge Cody said he would not change the existing bail conditions and stated the “exclusion zone” of 500 metres would continue to apply.

He remanded the accused on bail to appear in court again on February 18.

The man is one of a number of accused people with suspected mental health issues about whom concerns had been expressed in relation to their medical treatment in prison.

The man had been placed in custody in Cloverhill Prison in December and subsequently Judge Cody said that though a medical report had been ordered “as a matter of extreme urgency”, a letter had been received saying he was “not on the case load of the prison”.

The governor of Cloverhill and a psychiatrist were called to Tullamore District Court and gave explanations about how prisoners were assessed by a GP and then referred on if necessary.

It subsequently emerged that a medical report on the man was available to the court and his own father said he had been assessed.