A criminal Assets Bureau investigation led to an official block on "dole" payments to an unmarried father of three children, the Circuit Civil Court was told.
Judge Elizabeth Dunne yesterday held that Mr Martin Hyland, of Kippure Park, Finglas south, Dublin, was not entitled to succeed in an appeal against a decision of the Deciding Officer (Social Welfare) on April 27th last year to cut off his unemployment assistance.
Judge Dunne said the Sunday World, while not naming Mr Hyland, had described him in an article on March 16th, 1997, as Ireland's new drugs kingpin and said he had fled to England.
She said defamation proceedings had been commenced by him in respect of the article.
The article came to the attention of the Department of Social, Community and Family Affairs, and an investigation was directed to be carried out by the Criminal Assets Bureau, Judge Dunne said.
She said Mr Hyland had been in receipt of unemployment assistance since August 1993 at the Social Welfare office, Navan Road, Dublin. A criminal assets officer had called to his address in St Attracta's Road to be told by his mother he had not lived there for three years.
For that reason the bureau officer had been unable to report on Mr Hyland's means and recommended his unemployment assistance be terminated until he had made his whereabouts and circumstances known to the Criminal Assets Bureau.
Judge Dunne said Mr Hyland had indicated to the court he was now living at Kippure Park, Finglas south, the home of his girlfriend, with whom he had been in a relationship for 11 years and with whom he had three children.
His living arrangements had changed a number of times over the years and while the court accepted that following the Sunday World article he had reason to be wary in his habits, she did not accept it caused him to have any major change in his circumstances.
Judge Dunne said Mr Hyland's evidence as to his place of residence had been evasive, inconsistent and, at times, contradictory.
She said there had been no application by him for unemployment assistance at his residence at Kippure Park and it was clear an application should have been made by him reflecting his and his partner's true circumstances rather than an assessment based on a fiction that he was a single man living at St Attracta's Road.
Ms Nuala Jackson, counsel for the State, said although Mr Hyland had been granted legal aid to prosecute his appeal she had been instructed to seek an order for costs against him. There had been evidence he still had a libel action outstanding and a great deal of costs to the State could have been avoided had he conceded much earlier his proper address.
Mr Padraig Dwyer, counsel for Mr Hyland, opposing an order for costs, said it was the first case which the court had to decide pursuant to legislation.
Judge Dunne said she had been told Mr Hyland had an action for defamation against the Sunday World in respect of an article which had featured at different times in the course of the proceedings.
While she knew nothing about the possibility of success in those proceedings it was possible, should he succeed, he might well get significant damages and if that was so he would be somebody who could discharge costs.
Judge Dunne made the order against him.
Mr Dwyer failed in a further application for a court order making available to Mr Hyland a transcript of the proceedings.
The judge said it would be wholly inappropriate for her to make such an order were the transcript to be used by Mr Hyland to further his defamation proceedings.