Redmond gets costs of his appeal but not trial

The Court of Criminal Appeal has awarded Mr George Redmond the costs of his successful appeal against a conviction on corruption charges.

However, the court rejected an application by lawyers for the former assistant Dublin City and County manager for the costs of his original trial last November.

Mr Redmond will not be seeking compensation for a miscarriage of justice after the court quashed his original conviction earlier this week, his lawyers confirmed yesterday.

The State will now have to pay the costs of Mr Redmond's appeal, estimated at £70,000. However, the 80-year-old former official will have to bear the costs of his original trial, estimated at £200,000.

Mr Redmond, who was released from Cloverhill prison on Wednesday after the court found his conviction "unsafe and unsatisfactory", was in court for yesterday's brief hearing..

Mr Redmond's conviction was quashed after the defence produced the bank statements of garage owner Mr Brendan Fassnidge during his appeal. Mr Fassnidge had claimed that he withdrew £10,000 from his account to bribe Mr Redmond, but the bank statement showed there was no such withdrawal.

Applying for the costs of the appeal, Mr Brendan Grehan SC, for Mr Redmond, said the principle of "the costs following the event" should apply in his client's case. He pointed out that Mr Redmond had been refused legal aid for the appeal.

Mr Grehan conceded his application for the costs of last year's trial was "more unusual". He pointed out that after Mr Redmond's conviction, the DPP had made a "unique" application to have his client pay the costs of the trial.

Although Judge Michael White had given the application "short shrift", the application had set "the ground rules". Ms Justice Catherine McGuinness said she understood this to mean, "if he can ask for his costs, so can you".

Mr Grehan said the fact that he had to pay his own costs had placed a "considerable burden" on Mr Redmond. In addition, he had served a large portion of his one-year sentence before it was quashed. This has come about as a result of new evidence presented to the appeal.

Counsel pointed out that the defence had requested this new evidence in January, but did not receive the material until June 23rd. As a result, Mr Redmond was imprisoned for five months longer than he might otherwise have been.

If the DPP knew what was known now, the prosecution would never have been brought in the form and character that it was, Mr Grehan said.

Mr Patrick McCarthy SC, for the DPP, referred to the written judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeal issued this week. The court had found that the picture that emerged in relation to Mr Redmond and Mr Fassnidge was not an attractive one.

After a recess, Ms Justice McGuinness, sitting with Mr Justice O'Donovan and Mr Justice de Valera, read the court's decision. She said Mr Grehan had "a point" in bringing attention to the fact that new evidence had been available early this year but was not passed on to the defence until June. Bearing all the matters in mind, the principle of the costs following the event and the fact that Mr Redmond was not granted legal aid, she said the court had decided to grant the costs of the appeal.