The Court of Criminal Appeal granted Dominic Dwyer bail pending his appeal to the Supreme Court, after certifying that the case involved a point of law of exceptional public importance. The court left the terms of bail to be addressed by counsel.
In a judgment delivered on 21 March 2007, the court set out the principles for bail where a Supreme Court appeal follows a certified point of law. It said bail should be granted if the interests of justice require it, while stressing that a convicted person’s application must be considered sparingly. The court said the general principles governing bail apply, and that each case’s circumstances should be considered.
Those circumstances may include whether the trial court imposed a non-custodial sentence but the Court of Criminal Appeal imposed imprisonment; whether the sentence may be served before the Supreme Court appeal is heard; the applicant’s family, work, education and health circumstances; previous conduct on bail; and the position of the Director of Public Prosecutions or gardaí.
The application followed an earlier decision on 2 February 2007. The Court of Criminal Appeal had reviewed sentences imposed by the Circuit Court at Ennis on 3 May 2006 and found them unduly lenient. It quashed the original sentences, which were suspended for two years, and imposed concurrent two-year prison terms backdated to 3 May 2006. It noted Dwyer had not been in custody and ordered the backdating in the interests of justice.
The court had certified a point of law for appeal to the Supreme Court under section 3 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993. It said the new prison sentence might, with remission, be served by autumn 2007 before the Supreme Court could hear the appeal.
In the bail application, the court considered Dwyer’s personal circumstances as recorded in its February judgment: he had four children at home, his wife did not drive and was a full-time mother, and the family lived in a council house. Dwyer had also brought €5,000 to court as a gesture of remorse and compensation for Steve Pond and another victim.
On the risk of absconding, Dwyer stated that he had honoured his bail bond, had not been in trouble, lived with his family and complied with the direction to present himself at Ennis Garda Station on 16 February 2007 to be taken into custody. The judgment said the State did not dispute his account. The Director of Public Prosecutions raised no objection to bail. The court granted the application pending the Supreme Court appeal.