David Gregan faces community service for false injury claim, subject to assessment

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Judge Martin Nolan said David Gregan would receive 150 hours of community service in lieu of a prison sentence, provided he was found suitable. The proceedings at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court were reported on 21 March 2023.

Gregan pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement to a solicitor within the State on 20 October 2017.

The court heard that Gregan witnessed a collision between a bus and a car in Dublin city centre in 2017 and subsequently claimed at a solicitor’s office that he had been injured. He said he had suffered soft tissue injuries, including to his shoulders.

An insurance anti-fraud investigator reviewed CCTV footage and found that Gregan, although on the footpath, was not close enough to be hit by the vehicles, the court heard. Detective Garda Damien McKenna told prosecuting counsel Diana Stuart BL that Gregan withdrew his claim in 2018 and no payment was made, but the other parties lost €9,000 in legal fees.

Gregan had no previous convictions. Defence counsel said he had worked in security for 25 years; the court also heard that he had been assaulted in the course of his work. The report said he was separated from his wife and had a history of mental health difficulties.

Judge Nolan said Gregan had succumbed to the temptation of what he thought was easy money and did not deserve a custodial sentence. He adjourned the case for the Probation Service to assess Gregan’s suitability for community service. The matter was due back in court on 12 June.

This report covers an earlier stage of the case. Later developments are not reported here.