A gambling addict who stole over €37,000 in deposits paid by customers at the car dealership where he worked, was jailed for 12 months at Dundalk Circuit Court last week.

David Gallagher (32) of Geraldstown Woods, Santry had been sent forward from Drogheda district court on signed guilty pleas in relation to eight counts of theft from Joe Duffy Motors, Donore Road Drogheda between January 1st and April 30th 2022.

The defendant, who the court was told was in the throes of a significant gambling addiction, had not lodged the deposits received from eight customers at the dealership, which was at a loss of €37,050.

He was suspended in April 2022 and told his employer he would repay the money and was told the matter would go no further if he repaid it by May 9th, but that did not happen.

A report by the Probation Service said that its further involvement was not warranted.
Judge Dara Hayes noted the defendant, who now works as a green keeper for a golf club, attends Gamblers Anonymous meetings on a weekly basis and he had received letters from his sponsor, and Mr. Gallagher’s partner.

€5,000 had been paid over and the defendant had been advised last month to have a realistic repayment plan in place or a custodial sentence would be inevitable.

Judge Hayes imposed concurrent two and a half year sentences, but given the the defendant had no previous convictions, had not come to adverse garda attention since and the investigating garda does not expect to see him before the courts again, he suspended the final 18 months of each, for 18 months adding “the fact of the sentence is often more important than the length of it”.