11-month custodial sentence for Wexford man over deception offence committed in Kildare town

An 11-month custodial sentence was imposed on a County Wexford man in Naas District Court over a deception offence he committed on a person from Kildare town.

Michael Connors, with an address listed as 17 Waterside, New Ross, County Wexford, but who is currently serving a custodial sentence on other matters, was jailed by Judge Desmond Zaidan on Thursday, February 22.

Gardaí told the judge that on March 2, 2020, the 42-year-old was contracted to carry out the demolition of a shed at the person's property, and to also carry out other works.

However, only the demolition of the shed took place, which put his client at a loss of €2,000.

This constituted an offence relating to Section 6 (1) and (2) of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act, 2001, which refers to 'making gain or causing loss by deception.'

Mr Connors pleaded guilty to the offence.

Solicitor David Powderly represented the man.

Gardaí added that Mr Connors has 67 previous convictions in total, including one previous conviction for a similar deception offence.

He is due for release in January of 2025.

Defending solictor David Powderly pointed to his client's guilty plea 'at the first opportunity'.

Mr Powderly said that is client intended to use the money he received in order to fund other workers involved in the project, but added that his client was 'reckless' in how he went about handling the situation.

Judge Zaidan ultimately decided to impose an 11-month custodial sentence on Mr Connors for the offence, which took effect immediately.