Judge in Waterford gives man a chance to change and calls drugs 'a blight on society'
Waterford Courthouse
A judge at Waterford District Court said that while “drugs are a blight on society”, she would give a man charged with possession a chance to continue his progress.
Brendan Gahan (38), of 31 Kilcarrig Green, Tallaght, was before Judge Miriam Walsh charged with possession of drugs at Meeting House Lane on April 4, 2023, and possession of a knife on April 3, 2023, on Thomas Street, Waterford. The defendant pleaded guilty to both charges.
Sergeant Michael Hickey told the court that on April 4, 2023, the defendant was stopped and searched and gardaí found €10 worth of cocaine and €38 worth of diamorphine on his person. During a full search at the garda station, gardaí found a further €250 worth of cocaine and €150 worth of diamorphine.
The defendant was also stopped and searched the previous day, and gardaí found him in possession of a knife with no reasonable excuse to carry one. The defendant had five previous convictions, including for offences under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977.
Solicitor Ken Cunningham said his client was suffering from a polysubstance misuse problem at the time but was doing much better now. Since the incident, the defendant had “done extremely well” on the Fetterkern Rehabilitation Programme and was now on methadone.
Judge Walsh said that while “drugs are a blight on society”, the amounts found were “relatively small”. She said that she would like to see him under the supervision of the probation services for one year and, on that condition, she would suspend his sentence.
She sentenced the defendant to three months in prison, suspended for 12 months for the drugs charge, and for the knife, the judge imposed a two-month sentence suspended for six months.
