Mr George Redmond, a former Dublin city and county assistant manager, has received fairly lenient treatment from Judge Michael White in the Circuit Criminal Court.
Facing a possible penalty of seven years in jail, the senior public figure was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment on each of two charges of corruption after issues of proportionality and the gravity of the offence, his age and his medical history were taken into account. Mr Redmond was allowed to keep his public pension. And an application by the State for its legal costs was refused.
This is the first high-profile conviction of a senior public figure on corruption charges involving the planning process. And the sentence imposed will set a standard for other cases.
Mr Redmond was found guilty of accepting a bribe in connection with the sale of a plot of land by Dublin County Council. In his summing up, Judge White observed that high standards were expected from public officials but that Mr Redmond had corruptly received money and had committed a serious breach of trust. Although he was an elderly man in his 80th year and had suffered the indignity and humiliation of the trial, the judge said he must impose a custodial sentence.
There is a strange conceit amongst the affluent in society that a person's age should militate against a custodial sentence. Time and again, age has been advanced as a reason why elderly individuals should not be severely punished for criminal offences. Is that a valid consideration?
Such people have invariably acted in a calculated way and with the benefit of lifelong experience and knowledge. In contrast, young people with little experience are locked up in the prime of their lives for relatively minor offences. Yet the effect of incarceration on them is likely to be greater than for an elderly person.
White collar crime has been largely ignored in this society. Even when successful prosecutions are taken, the penalties tend to be moderate. In that regard, the decision by Judge White to impose a custodial sentence in the Redmond case is a welcome development and a warning to others.
Mr Redmond and his activities came to the attention of the public through the Flood tribunal. When he retired as the assistant manager of Dublin city and county in 1988, he was receiving a salary of €24,000. Yet his investments were worth €830,000. And he lodged €217,000 to various accounts in that year alone.
Mr Redmond was corrupt and the planning process was rotten. It is right that he should be jailed.