The owner of a 1,000-seater bingo hall in Cork has claimed raids on his premises by gardaí have had a “devastating effect” on his business with charities now afraid to align themselves as beneficiary partners arising out of the poor publicity of recent months.
The Rock Bingo Hall in Togher, Cork, has been dogged by legal issues surrounding its opening and has been raided on a number of occasions by gardaí since December 9th of last year. In mid-January the operators of the bingo hall, Omega Leisure Ltd, were given the final go-ahead to run the facility as an agent for a charity after they won a High Court declaration that its activities were legal.
Yesterday at a sitting of the High Court in Cork, Dermot Gleeson SC, for Omega, said his clients were seeking vindication for “unforgiveable” and “inexcusable” infringements on their legitimate business.
Mr Gleeson said the raids tainted the Rock Bingo business with suggestions of illegality. He told Mr Justice Frank Clarke that the raids were carried out to make Garda disapproval of the business public rather than for the collection of evidence. He added that search warrants should never be used “to put the heat” on people who are running legitimate businesses. Mr Gleeson said there was no “bona fides” to the applications for search warrants.
The High Court hearing continues today.