Sustained adverse comment in the media has turned George Redmond into "a pariah in the community," his lawyer told the court. Mr Brendan Grehan SC said his client's offences seemed to have struck "a deep chord" in society and he had lost all friends and colleagues and the standing he once had.
The image of Redmond (79) being led from the court in handcuffs after his conviction last month would forever remain as the "iconic image of corruption in Ireland".
Redmond and those near and dear to him would have to live with that, Mr Grehan said.
Pleading mitigation, however, he said there would be "an element of inhumanity" if the court were to consign his client to prison for an appreciable amount of time.
This treatment was normally only meted out to people of his age in cases involving vile sexual abuse, murder or war crimes. No matter how his client's offences were considered, there was no way they ranked alongside these crimes. He asked for "proportionality" to be applied in the way his client was treated.
Mr Grehan noted that garage owner Mr Brendan Fassnidge, who was the chief witness in Redmond's trial, was not being prosecuted for his role in the matter and that this only became known at the opening of the trial.
Mr Grehan furnished Judge Michael White with medical notes on Redmond's health. Redmond had heart surgery for a blocked coronary artery last year but had made a good recovery. He suffered a brain stem stroke in 1992 and had prostate problems in the same year. He also suffered from arthritis in the right knee, recurrent heartburn and hearing difficulties.
Mr Grehan said he wasn't making the case that his client was a frail old man. It was true that Redmond was old, but had always kept himself active through life. Approaching his 80th birthday, a number of factors were "stacking up against him".
The fact that Redmond had been the subject of sustained adverse publicity should also be taken into account as a mitigating factor, Mr Grehan said.
While it was undeniable that Redmond had betrayed the public trust, the actual material damage to the public caused by his crimes was minimal. He "has fallen from a great height" and his life "had ceased to exist".
His crime was committed many years ago when people were less excited about these matters than they now were.
Mr Grehan said Redmond had voluntarily admitted to Garda detectives in 1999 that he had received £5,000 "out of the blue" from Mr Fassnidge. This had been instrumental in bringing about his conviction because without it the jury would have had to rely on Mr Fassnidge's evidence which, Mr Grehan said, materially differed in some aspects with evidence from council officials.
The court heard that Redmond was employed by Dublin Corporation and Dublin County Council for 48 years since he was 17 years old and ended his career as assistant city and county manager.
Under the then prevailing management system this meant he was effectively Dublin county manager.
