Redmond given one-year jail sentence for corruption

Former assistant Dublin city and county manager George Redmond (79)  has been jailed for one year for corruption in the 1980s…

Former assistant Dublin city and county manager George Redmond (79)  has been jailed for one year for corruption in the 1980s.

During sentencing at Dublin Circuit Criminal heard this morning, Judge Michael White imposed two one-year sentences on Mr Redmond, due to run concurrently.

Judge White said he was taking Redmond's age into consideration when handing down sentence. He could have imposed a sentence of up to seven years.

This afternoon, Judge White rejected an application for costs of the trial to be awarded against Redmond.

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He also refused an application for leave to appeal against the conviction.

Redmond is due to appear again in the court on February 20th next for mention of two other charges against him.

Redmond was found guilty on November 19th of receiving £10,000 in 1987 or 1988 from garage owner Mr Brendan Fassnidge as a bribe relating to the sale of a right-of-way from Dublin County Council at the Lucan bypass. He has been in Cloverhill Prison since his conviction.

Judge White said this morning that Redmond had "suffered humiliation and indignity" because of his actions but that  he had "paid scant regard or attention to the laws of the Revenue".

He went on to say that society expected the "highest levels of probity" from officials in the public service and that Redmond's crimes were a "serious breach of trust".

Redmond, whose sentence has been backdated to November 19th, will keep his pension, worth €53,000 per annum.

Redmond had denied that while an agent or servant of the Council of the County of Dublin, a public body, he corruptly received a gift of money on a date between June 1st, 1987, and May 31st, 1988, as an inducement or reward for doing or forbearing to do anything in respect of the sale of a right-of-way at Palmerstown, by the Council of the County of Dublin.

He also denied that as an agent he corruptly accepted for himself a gift of money as an inducement or reward for showing favour to another in relation to the said principal's affairs, namely the sale of the right-of-way.