An asylum seeker who had clocked up ten bench warrants in efforts to get him before various courts to answer charges he faces, was refused bail when he appeared before Judge Adrian Harris at Galway District Court.
Gardaí objected to bail for the young man because of his record of not turning up for Court appearances. Asylum seekers generally receive anonymity in Court reports to protect their identity.
However, defending barrister Gary McDonald pleaded that his client was in IPAS accommodation and they keep moving him about, so it is very difficult for him to make Court appearances.
He is not a man of means, the defence pleaded, so he had no money for bail and he finds it difficult to travel about the country because of this, adding that he could make commitments that day but he could be moved by IPAS again, and they were back at the same problem.
Gardaí pointed out that the defendant was currently in custody and this meant they knew where he was. They objected to bail on the grounds that he might abscond and that ten bench warrants had already been issued for him by a number of Courts, not only in Galway but in Dublin and Cork.
The Gardaí also argued that it was because of his moving about the country that he had come to the attention of Garda in Cork and Dublin.
Judge Harris said he found the probability of the defendant not turning up again was strong in light of the ten previous bench warrants, and refused bail.
He remanded the defendant in custody to appear before Courts in Dublin and Cork and then to return before Galway District Court on January 26.
