A father who left his 9-month-old daughter in a car for over eight hours will be sentenced next week.
Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that a 35-year-old man, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of his child, pleaded guilty to one count of child neglect at a location in Dublin 15 on October 21st, 2023.
He has two previous convictions, one of which was for a minor road traffic matter.
Gda Sgt Cian Logan told Maddie Grant, prosecuting, that on the date in question, the defendant presented to Clondalkin Garda station in a distressed state and told gardaí that he could not find his daughter or his car.
Trump signs executive order pardoning January 6th Capitol rioters
‘Nobody took any responsibility whatsoever’: Widow had to pay €70,000 to fix wall damaged by river
Fintan O’Toole: What’s the dirtiest four-letter word in Irish politics? ‘Deal’
Ireland’s 11 billionaires saw their wealth grow by a third to €50bn in 2024
He told gardaí that he had searched for both for several hours. He said he had been drinking and could not remember where he left the car and that his daughter was inside.
The court heard that the child’s mother was away on a pre-planned trip. The defendant told gardaí that he had also gone to meet someone to buy drugs. As a result of this information, gardaí launched a search involving all available gardaí from Dublin and Meath, and the garda helicopter was deployed.
The defendant had contacted his neighbours at 9.15pm, and they drove him around for a number of hours to try to locate both the child and the car. The gardaí sought an “emergency ping” for the defendant’s phone as he believed it may be in the car.
The mobile phone “ping” was located in Dublin 15, and gardaí began to search the location. At 4.55am, a car was located, and an infant was seen unsecured and in a distressed state in the car.
The court heard that a window of the car was broken, and a member of the gardaí climbed in and unlocked the car. The child, dressed in a babygrow, was shivering and observed to have blue feet.
The baby was wrapped in additional blankets and brought to Temple Steet Children’s Hospital where they were changed into warmer clothes and fed milk and yoghurt. The doctor who examined the child noted that its temperature had returned to normal but confirmed that the baby had been exposed to low temperatures.
Gda Sgt Logan said that Section 12 of the Childcare Act was evoked, and Tusla was alerted. The baby was placed in the care of other family members until the child’s mother could return to the country, which she did immediately. The court was told that the baby made a full recovery.
The court heard the baby had been alone in the car for eight and a half hours.
The defendant was arrested, interviewed and charged. His car was seized, and traces of cocaine were found near the gear stick and in a bag at the driver’s door.
Gda Sgt Logan agreed with senior counsel Michael Bowman, defending, that his client admitted to gardaí he had been drink driving and did not know where his child was.
The garda agreed with counsel that the defendant presented to the Garda station in a very upset and distressed state and described his child as his “whole world”. He further agreed that the man entered a guilty plea at the earliest possible stage.
The partner of the defendant and the mother of the child agreed with Mr Bowman that she was not aware that the defendant was a full-blown alcoholic and that he had been masking these issues.
She also agreed that she was not happy to have the defendant in the family home after the incident.
The woman told the court that her partner “is a good person who has done a bad thing which should not define him” and described him as a “kind, caring and committed father”.
Mr Bowman said that a probation report, which was before the court, placed his client at low risk of reoffending and that no other interventions were deemed necessary by them.
Counsel said Tusla had carried out an investigation and found that the defendant was “not a risk to his daughter”.
He said the defendant had completed a five-week residential rehabilitation programme and has been involved in their aftercare services for the past year.
The court heard that he is drug-free and tested regularly.
Judge Sarah Berkeley remanded the accused into custody and adjourned the matter for finalisation until next Tuesday.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis