Woman receives nine-month sentence for child neglect

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

An unnamed woman received a nine-month headline sentence in proceedings involving child neglect, after pleading guilty to two child-neglect charges and refusing a breathalyser.

She also faced two public-order offences, was disqualified from driving for four years, and was likely to be fined over the child-neglect charges. The child-neglect charges might be avoided if she engaged with Probation Services, while the trial was adjourned until May 5. The proceedings were reported on 10 February 2022.

The incident followed Gardaí stopping her at 4am on 1 September 2019 after alleged swerving and wrong-side driving. She explained that she could not afford a taxi and returned home because one child became unsettled; the children remained in her care after a Tusla investigation found no other issues.