DPP appeal against Gerard Lawlor’s suspended sentence dismissed

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

The Court of Appeal dismissed the Director of Public Prosecutions’ appeal against Gerard Lawlor’s wholly suspended three-year sentence for social welfare fraud. Mr Justice Hedigan delivered the court’s judgment on 17 July 2018.

Lawlor had entered an early guilty plea to 11 counts of theft. The offences took place between December 2005 and May 2015, and he had fraudulently obtained €167,873.90 from the Department of Social Protection.

On 15 June 2017, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court imposed a wholly suspended three-year sentence. The judgment specified that the sentence applied to counts 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11, on condition that Lawlor enter a €300 bond, keep the peace and be of good behaviour for three years.

The DPP sought a review on the ground that the sentence was unduly lenient. The prosecution argued that the sentencing judge gave insufficient weight to inaccurate information Lawlor had supplied to a probation officer, among other matters.

The Court of Appeal found no basis to intervene. It said the sentencing judge had recognised that a custodial sentence was the starting point but found exceptional circumstances in the difficult situation of Lawlor’s two sisters. Evidence had been accepted that he cared for them, including one sister with a serious disability.

The proceedings were reported on 17 July 2018.