Connacht Tribune
Galway woman is spared jail after fraud conviction
A Galway woman, who used false documents to secure a €1.65m bank loan in an “act of desperation”, has avoided a prison sentence.
At Galway Circuit Criminal Court this week, Judge Brian O’Callaghan imposed a suspended 18-month sentence on 53-year-old Miriam Cahill.
After hearing evidence, Judge O’Callaghan said: “It is the court’s view that the last place this lady needs to be is in prison.”
Judge O’Callaghan said the offending transaction occurred between August and December 2008 “during an interesting time in this country’s history”.
Cahill, with an address at 59 Lower Salthill, pleaded guilty last year to an offence contrary to Cection 7 of the Criminal Justice Theft and Fraud Offences Act.
The charge stated Cahill dishonestly by deception on a date unknown between August 1 and December 31, 2008 – with the intention of making a gain for herself or another or causing a loss to another – obtained by deception from a member of staff at ACC bank, a loan of €1.65 million, secured by a mortgage, by providing false and fraudulent documentation regarding the loan application.
The false documentation in question was a purported P60 from 2007 in her name, a purported letter from the Kingfisher Club in her name and a purported letter from DBAS Accountancy Services, Ennis Road, Gort, in her name.
Prosecuting counsel, Geri Silke BL, told the court the accused secured the loan on the basis of incorrect income submitted to ACC bank.
Funds totalling €1.65m were transferred to an account and the loan and not been fully repaid, the court heard
A detective garda agreed with counsel that the accused had not come to garda attention prior to or since the offence.
In sentencing, Judge O’Callaghan said the accused pleaded guilty to a “most serious offence”.
He said it would be easy to characterise cases such as this as “to hell with the banks, they don’t matter”. He continued: “They do and we need them.”
He said trust was at the core of the case.
“Sadly in this case trust broke down at the very start of the relationship.”
Judge O’Callaghan said the defendant found herself under financial pressure and required additional equity to repay debts to builders for work carried out on her property in Salthill.
He said the court was satisfied there was “no self gain personally involved in this transaction” and the court accepted the loan was used for the purpose in which it was obtained and there was “no personal benefit or private use”.
The judge was satisfied the accused was under pressure to repay third parties – who themselves were under pressure from other parties – given the state of the economy at the time.
“People were trying to get paid. People were going to the wall,” he added.
The judge said he had the benefit of a probation report in which Cahill describes her actions as an “act of desperation”.
He said the court was satisfied from the report that Cahill knew what she was doing was “wrong and dishonest”.
The probation services said the accused was at a low risk of re-offending.
In mitigation, defence barrister Michael O’Connor SC, said at the time of the offence, Cahill had a performing €1.4m loan with KBC bank but that “builders were knocking on the door” to be paid for work done at the Salthill property.
Counsel said his client intended to put apartments into the property but ran into the “perfect storm” of the 2008 economic collapse.
He said his client came from a small community and had suffered “considerable shame and embarrassment”.
“She accepts it is her fault entirely and it is an aberration for her and her family,” he added.
Judge O’Callaghan noted that an aggravating factor in the case was the “total breach of trust and dishonestly involved”.
However he also noted Cahill had been waiting five years to learn her fate “which in itself is a form of sentence”.
Taking all circumstances into account, including care which Cahill provides to her daughter, Judge O’Callaghan imposed a fully-suspended 18-month sentence.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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