One of three Romanian teenagers charged over the theft of coins from a parking meter in Dublin two weeks ago entered Ireland "on the back of a lorry", the Children's Court heard yesterday. Joe Humphreys reports.
The 15-year-old boy was accused of stealing €240 worth of coins from a parking meter on Haddington Road, and possession of a screwdriver with intent to steal at neighbouring Shelbourne Road on June 19th last.
Two other Romanian boys, both aged 16, accompanied him in court. One faced the same two charges, the other a single charge of possession of a screwdriver with intention to steal.
All three were said to be in Ireland without parents or guardians and had no residency status here. The court previously heard they had been living in a city-centre apartment, occupied by children only, for nearly two months.
Garda Paul Comerford of Mountjoy Garda station said the DPP objected to bail for the 15-year-old because the Garda National Immigration Bureau had no record of him.
"We don't know who he is at all," the garda said.
The boy's solicitor, Ms Caroline Egan, said a cousin of her client was in court, and this cousin had registered with immigration.
The boy pleaded not guilty to the charges, and the court heard no one was intimidated in the theft. Nor was there anything "untoward" in the use of the screwdriver, said Garda Comerford.
Judge Anne Watkin granted the defendant bail of €250 on his own bond, subject to the condition that he remained in custody until he was registered with immigration.
The judge also requested that the boy reside at an agreed address under health board care, sign on daily at a Garda station, and obey a daily curfew between 9 p.m. and 7 a.m.
The same bail conditions applied to the two 16-year-olds, with the exception of the condition to register with immigration in one case.