Andrew Carey
THE Limerick trial of a member of An Garda Siochana charged with five counts of theft has heard that he allegedly made false claims for over five months for allowances that he was not entitled to.
Ciaran Folan, (44) with an address at Fethard On Sea, Wexford, has denied five counts of the theft of a total of €3,310.27 from his employer, the Minister for Justice, on dates between September 9, 2007 and January 31, 2008 while he was stationed in Clifden.
It is alleged that the accused made claims for work allowances that he was not entitled to.
Opening the case before Judge Tom O’Donnell, Prosecution Counsel for the State John O’Sullivan told the jury that although it was an “unfortunate case”, it was still a criminal case where the accused is charged with five criminal offences.
Garda Folan is accused of the theft of a total of €3,310.29 by claiming allowances, from his employer, for which he was not entitled to claim.
Mr O’Sullivan said that “although the amounts of money involved are not terribly valuable in today’s terms”, in essence he added, “it is the State’s case that Garda Folan procured payment of allowances that he was not entitled to.
Addressing the jury, Mr O’Sullivan said that it was their task to “look at the evidence and approach the case in a straight forward and clinical manner.
“Sympathy for the accused”, he said, “has to be put out of your minds”.
The court was reminded that Garda Folan “enjoys the presumption of innocence and it is the prosecution’s task to prove the facts beyond reasonable doubt.”
Mr O’Sullivan explained that the trial will hear about gardai in Clifden where the accused was stationed at the time of the alleged offences.
In his opening address, Mr O’Sullivan said that the matters before the court relate to June 2007 when Garda Folan “stepped in to the shoes” of the financial officer Julianne Gill by taking on her duties when she went on maternity leave.
Garda Folan, the court heard, became responsible for processing pay and allowances for An Garda Siochana in the Clifden District.
Mr O’Sullivan said that gardai were entitled to claim allowances for weekend work, Bank Holidays and overtime.
Furthermore, Mr O’Sullivan said that Garda Folan took on the duties of the District Clerk at Clifden Garda Station on a temporary basis and he was not rostered for duties at weekends or Bank Holidays.
This, Mr O’Sullivan argued, rendered the accused ineligible to claim those allowances.
Garda Folan, the State say, “had the task of processing people’s pay, including his own, while Ms Gill was on maternity leave”.
Gardai would fill out forms to claim their allowances and these would be returned to the finance officer for the Garda District and they would then by compiled on to a master sheet and given to a Superintendent.
From there, the senior officer would compile another form and the documents would be sent to Killarney for processing.
“It is submitted that Ciaran Folan procured payments that he was not entitled to for night duty, overtime and weekend payments,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
“Payments slips were generated for the accused meant that he got payment for work he did not do and it is the prosecution’s case that he could do this because he was responsible for compiling the relevant documents given the role that he was in”, concluded Mr O’Sullivan.
After Mr O’Sullivan’s opening address, the trial entered legal argument and the jury was sent home for the day.
The trial continues before Judge Tom O’Donnell on Thursday.
