The High Court ordered Enoch Burke’s release from coercive imprisonment on 20 December 2024, while increasing his daily fine to €1,400 until he purges his contempt.
Mr Justice Nolan said Burke remained in prison for refusing to comply with an order by Owens J. to stay away from Wilson’s Hospital School. The judge said the school could return to court to seek Burke’s attachment and committal, or other appropriate measures, if he failed to comply. The case was listed for mention on 21 January 2025. Burke may also apply to the court at any time to purge his contempt.
Nolan J. said the release would be open-ended rather than limited to the Christmas period. He described it as one of the rare cases in which coercive imprisonment should stop, at least for the moment. The ruling did not end the underlying dispute or remove the stay-away order.
The judge said no payment had been made towards fines or costs. He calculated that Burke owed €193,800 in fines to the State under a previous order setting a €700 daily fine. The ruling said it appeared from submissions made in June 2024 that there was no easy mechanism to enforce that fine.
Burke remained on paid administrative leave, and the school’s challenge to its disciplinary procedure was before the Court of Appeal awaiting a decision. Nolan J. said the public was bearing the cost of Burke’s salary as well as his upkeep in Mountjoy Prison, which the ruling put at €84,067 a year, or €1,600 a week.
For the next court date, the judge directed the parties to make submissions on whether Burke’s bank account should be sequestered and his salary paid into court to satisfy the fines. He also directed the Attorney General and a Department of Finance representative to attend and advise on mechanisms for using salary to discharge the fine.
The judge said Burke could hold and express his religious views, but must obey the court’s orders. The ruling states that Burke had been found to trespass on the school’s property and ordered not to do so. Nolan J. said that breach, rather than Burke’s views, was the reason for his imprisonment.