A Wicklow man has told a court how he has had to sell his home in order to remove the threat to his family caused by a drug debt owed by his eldest son.
Michael O'Reilly, a former supermarket manager, gave evidence before a sitting of Wicklow Circuit Court about how he had already paid €17,500 to clear off a drug debt accumulated by his son, Oisín.
The court heard that a car owned by Mr O’Reilly had been burnt out, while threats had also been made against him and his wife at his front door.
Mr O’Reilly said he had retired from his job with Tesco due to ill health but hoped to return to work in another job next year.
He told Judge Patrick Quinn that he only realised the seriousness of what his son was involved in when he was arrested.
Mr O’Reilly said he also installed security cameras all around his property because of the physical threat to his family and home.
He told the court that he and his wife had recently managed to sell their family home and "downsize" in order to "get a fresh start" for their two sons and to get some quality of life.
Mr O’Reilly recalled how the couple could not sleep because of the fear they would feel "every time we’d hear the click of the gate".
Oisín O’Reilly, 24, of Derreen Drive, Wicklow Town, pleaded guilty to a charge of demanding money with menaces at an address at Brickfield Lane, Wicklow Town on 13 January 2021, contrary to Section 17 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994.
He also admitted an offence of possession of a small quantity of cannabis for personal use.
The court heard that an elderly Lithuanian woman and her nephew were threatened by having a knife held to their throat with others who had accompanied the accused to the property.
Detective Garda Frank Gunter told the court that O’Reilly had gone to the house with others in relation to an alleged drug debt.
Det Garda Gunter said the defendant had been best friends with the woman’s grandson who was the individual who had the drug debt.
The court heard that O’Reilly also used to regularly stay in the house overnight.
Det Garda Gunter said O’Reilly had stayed outside the property while the others went inside.
Under cross-examination by counsel for O’Reilly, Edmund Sweetman BL, he said the accused and the person being sought for the drug debt had become addicts together through their heavy use of cannabis.
The witness agreed that O’Reilly also had very serious drug debts.
Det Gada Gunter said he was unaware that the other person was back in Lithuania at the time of the offence.
In evidence, O’Reilly’s father said his son had a personal drug debt of €3,500 but was then required to pay the €14,000 owed by his friend who had left the country.
'Completely different person'
Mr O’Reilly said he had helped his son and had encouraged him with getting rehabilitated.
He said the accused had gone into a treatment facility for six months and had come out "a completely different person".
The court heard O’Reilly had managed to stay out of trouble since the offence apart from one occasion when gardaí were called because of a row with his father.
Pleading for leniency, Mr Sweetman said his client accepted he knew the purpose of why he went to the property with other men but claimed O’Reilly was "in a position of fear" because of his own drug debt.
Mr Sweetman said the accused also accepted that he did not have the moral courage to stand up to others which had placed him in "a most disagreeable situation".
The court heard O’Reilly was a building labourer who had the prospect of permanent work, while he had made real progress in tackling his drug addiction.
Sentencing O’Reilly to four years in prison, Judge Quinn suspended the final two years on condition that the accused attend all supervision appointments and any recommended drug treatment referrals upon his release.
The judge remarked that O’Reilly, who had no previous convictions, had been used as "a door opener" to get inside the property because he was known to its occupants.
He said there was no possibility of a non-custodial sentence given that O’Reilly was involved in an incident in which a knife was held to someone’s throat "even if he didn’t do it".
The judge said it was a type of offence that was taken "very seriously" by the courts.
Judge Quinn observed that the situation must be "heart-breaking" for his parents and said he was sorry that they found themselves in such a difficult situation.
