The man arrested on Christmas Eve for allegedly placing placards outside the home of RTÉbroadcaster Pat Kenny has been granted bail and released from prison subject to certain conditions.
Paul Stokes (52), Montpellier Parade, Monkstown, Co Dublin, had allegedly written "Paul Stokes is still here, but Pat Kenny may not be soon" in breach of his bail conditions arising from a separate matter that forbade him from having any contact with any member of staff from RTÉ.
Evidence was given by Garda William Power of Kill o' the Grange Garda station of arresting Mr Stokes in the back yard of Donnybrook Garda station under section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 which states 10.-(1) Any person who, without lawful authority or reasonable excuse, by any means including by use of the telephone, harasses another by persistently following, watching, pestering, besetting or communicating with him or her, shall be guilty of an offence.
At Cloverhill Court yesterday Mr Stokes applied for bail, and wished to give evidence in support of his application.
He told Judge Gerard Haughton that his mother is in her 87th year, and recently has had a heart complaint. He said that she had broken her collarbone last year and he was there to nurse her back to health. She is living with her 89-year-old sister who was unable to provide for her in the way that she requires. The six-minute phone calls he is allowed to make to her from the prison is not enough support she needs, and could he have compassionate bail to be with her in her hour of need.
Judge Haughton asked Mr Stokes if he was prepared to abide by all conditions of bail, to which he replied, "Yes, I will if they are reasonable."
Asked by Judge Haughton what he meant by that, Mr Stokes replied, "In the light of the present circumstances I would be delighted to abide by them, but RTÉ is a State agency and it is . . ."
At that point Judge Haughton interrupted him, saying, "I am not going to allow you make a political speech today."
The judge put the matter back to January 25th next with bail conditions set as follows: that he refrain from contacting any member of staff of RTÉ, and if he wished to, he would have to ask his solicitor, Yvonne Bambury, to make the contact for him; that he observe a two-mile exclusion cordon of Montrose; that he pay €3,000 bail money, of which he can pay a third of that amount; that an independent surety of €9,000 be paid of which a third would secure his freedom; that he give 48 hours' notice to the Garda of the money being sought so that gardaí can verify it.