Soldier fined for drink driving

Judge John F. Neilan rebuked a representative from the Defence Forces for 'holding a watching brief' without identifying herself at last week"s sitting of Mullingar District Court.The representative, who was not in uniform, appeared for the Defence Forces as George Doherty, a soldier with a given address of 94 Rinmore Drive, Creggan Estate, Derry, appeared before the court charged with driving under the influence of alcohol in the vicinity of Tesco, Ashe Road, Mullingar on February 7 last.Inspector Kieran Keyes said that Mr. Doherty had registered an intoxalyser sample of 68 microgrammes of alcohol per 100 millilitres of breath.In defence of her client, solicitor Susan Fay said that Mr. Doherty admitted that his actions were 'stupid'. She said that he cooperated fully with Gardaí.Ms. Fay said that the Derry native is a gunner in the Army with no history of bad behaviour. She said that he was supported by the presence of a lieutenant from the Defence Forces, and that he had agreed to donate money to the National Rehabilitation Centre in the hope of avoiding heavy penalties.She explained that a driving disqualification would stop him from travelling home to see his family in Derry, and pleaded for a lenient fine, saying that any fine in excess of €260 would affect his position in the army.'Why shouldn"t an army person be treated in the same way as any other person?' Judge Neilan asked. 'I don"t understand how there could be a twin parallel system of justice in the State.'The Defence Forces representative asked the judge to take into consideration the fact that Mr. Doherty may not be re-enlisted if he receives a heavy fine.But Judge Neilan said that while he is 'bound by statute' to impose a disqualification from driving, it was completely within his discretion to impose a fine anywhere between €1 and €5,000.Nevertheless, he fined Mr. Doherty €250 with three months to pay, and disqualified him from holding a driving licence for three years.Judge Neilan again reminded the army representative that there is 'no such thing as a twin parallel system'. Furthermore, he asked the lieutenant why she had presented herself in court without a uniform.'You are not entitled to come into my court and hold a watching brief on behalf of anybody unless you formally identify yourself and get permission from the court,' he said, adding that she 'seemed hostile' to his observations.He told her to go back to the Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Dermot Earley, to tell him that there are 'protocols' to be observed.'It"s grossly discourteous that you would turn up in civil uniform without identifying yourself,' the judge remarked.