Man's drugs sentence increased after appeal

A man found with €45,000 worth of ecstasy tablets and who had received a two-year suspended sentence must now serve a four-year…

A man found with €45,000 worth of ecstasy tablets and who had received a two-year suspended sentence must now serve a four-year term of imprisonment, the Court of Criminal Appeal (CCA) decided yesterday.

The three-judge CCA upheld an appeal by the Director of Public Prosecutions that the two-year suspended sentence imposed on Damien Barrett was unduly lenient.

Barrett (22), Oriel Square, Waterford, had pleaded guilty in December 2003 to the offence and received a two-year sentence, which was suspended in its entirety.

At the CCA yesterday, Mr Tomas Teahan SC, for the DPP, argued the sentence was unduly lenient. He said Barrett had not assisted the gardaí in relation to anyone else involved in the drug offence. He said Barrett was acting in consort with very serious operators and was described as one of the "first lieutenants". This was also an offence with a mandatory sentence attached.

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Mr David Kennedy, for Barrett, said his client had owned up straight away when interviewed by gardaí and had told them the drugs were in his house. He had no previous convictions and his employer had stated he was a well-motivated carpenter who was very hardworking.

Granting the DPP's appeal, Mr Justice Geoghegan, presiding, and sitting with Mr Justice Peart and Mr Justice O'Leary, said it was not terribly clear why the judge had taken the very strong view that there should be no custodial sentence in Barrett's case.

There was no evidence of Barrett undergoing rehabilitation or that he had stopped taking drugs.