Judge: Organised begging ‘racket’ in Galway City

Organised begging has become “a racket” in Galway City, according to Judge Mary Fahy, who convicted two people of the offence at Galway District Court and issued bench warrants for the arrest of others.

Elena Feraru (25), a Romanian national of no fixed abode was the first to be prosecuted.

She pleaded guilty with the aid of an interpreter, to begging in the city on May 18 last year and again on April 1 this year.

Defence solicitor, Olivia Traynor, said her client told her she had come to Ireland four years ago hoping to get work, leaving her children with her mother in Romania.

She said it raised a question the court had often asked before that if a person could not secure employment why did they not go home.

Ms Traynor said Feraru was using COPE Galway day services for homeless people to shower and so on, and was sleeping rough at night.

She said her client was in a dire situation and probably one that the court sees too often. “Everything she owns is in her rucksack,” Mr Traynor observed.

“We all know there is a system in place. We don’t know if this lady is involved but there is a system in every city where they are being used by other individuals.

“It’s something that should be looked out for, with people being dropped off by people from Dublin and other places, for professional begging,” Judge Fahy said.

She fined Feraru €100 for the first begging offence and imposed a one-month sentence, suspended for twelve months for the second on condition she be of good behaviour.

“I want to give her an incentive that if she is being exploited or potentially going to be exploited, that she does not partake (in professional begging),” Judge Fahy said.

The second accused was Laurentiu Neculau, another Romanian national, who pleaded guilty to begging at Wolfe Tone Bridge on July 13 last.

Ms Traynor said he too had everything he owned in his rucksack, was in Ireland eight months, was homeless and was availing of COPE day services.

Judge Fahy said she again had to ask was he involved in organised begging.

“Anecdotally, we have heard of vulnerable people being dropped off from cars early in the morning and others are using these people who have no previous convictions for obvious reasons,” Judge Fahy said.

Sgt Rodgers said it was an extremely difficult offence to detect.

“In other words, they are professional beggars,” Judge Fahy replied.

“The suspicion is in the city they are professional beggars.  That is what they are doing Instead of trying to get work or get social welfare.  They are under the radar and they are colluding with these people by agreeing to work for them.  Some are more vulnerable than others,” Judge Fahy observed.

She imposed a one-month sentence on Neculau as well, suspended for twelve months to be of good behaviour.

“It seems that when some of them are sentenced, someone else takes their place.  That’s the implication but we have no proof of it,” Judge Fahy added.

Two more Romanian nationals failed to appear on similar charges.

“It’s so obvious. There are so many of these. These are professional beggars. These are not just random people, that are down on their luck. It’s a racket,” Judge Fahy said before issuing bench warrants for the arrest of both men.