A young father was told that he should be spending money on his children and not on drugs when he appeared before Galway District Court charged with possession of cocaine.
The 22-year-old father of two young children was homeless at the time of his arrest at Bowling Green on July 1 last.
Gardaí noticed him acting suspiciously and a subsequent search revealed he had cocaine to the value of €290 on him.
He had fully co-operated with the Gardaí and signed a Garda notebook to acknowledge his guilt. He had no previous convictions.
His solicitor pleaded that he was going through a bad time of it when he was arrested, but he was now out of this and was no longer on the Garda radar. He was now focusing on his young family, and his wife did not condone his behaviour.
Judge Liz Healy said she took into account his guilty plea and his cooperation with the Gardaí. She told him that he had responsibilities towards his children and should be spending his money on them instead of on drugs.
However, as he appeared to be out of this phase she would give him an opportunity to step forward and if he was in a position to make a €400 contribution to a local charity, she would consider striking out the charge.
