Dangerous driving caused €87,000 of damage and endangered lives

By Claire Henry

A young man who caused €87,000 worth of damage to cars and endangered the lives of multiple people due to his dangerous driving has been jailed for three years.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that Martin McAleer (22) of St Aidan’s Close, Tallaght, Dublin 24, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, endangerment, criminal damage and possession of false instruments in relation to separate incidents on January 4 and May 31, 2023.

He has 11 previous convictions and was on bail when he committed this offending.

He is currently serving a four year prison sentence.

Passing sentence last Friday (10th), Judge Martin Nolan said: “This defendant’s driving was dreadful, he was irresponsible and endangered many people.”

Judge Nolan noted that the first incident lasted for 10 minutes, and the second incident caused between €80,000 to 90,000 worth of damage to other cars.

The judge said he would consider his guilty plea, his remorse and the fact that he is doing well in custody and taking advantage of the services available to him while he is in custody as mitigating factors.

Judge Nolan said that this sentence must be consecutive to the current sentence that he is serving.

He sentenced him to five years and four months in prison, with the final 18 months suspended. He also disqualified him from driving for five years.

In relation to the first incident, Detective Sergeant Fergal Finnegan said that on January 4, 2023, gardai were called to an estate in Ballycullen, Dublin, when homeowners reported seeing males wearing balaclavas.

Gardai viewed CCTV and surveillance was placed on the car the males were in.

The car entered a car park, and two males got out of the car, concealed their faces, and entered a shop.

Gardai attempted to box the car into a parking space but were unable to do so due to other cars in the area.

A member of An Garda Síochána approached the car in which McAleer was driving and shouted “armed gardai”.

McAleer then drove the car out of the parking spot and struck a civilian car.

He continued to drive through the car park, collided with a garda car, and entered a yard.

The entrance to the yard was blocked by gardai vehicles.

The court heard that gardai attempted to carry out a “controlled contained procedure”, but this was unsuccessful.

McAleer then drove his car through a fence and struck a parked car while a person was sitting in it.

This person suffered soft tissue injuries. The car was then brought to a stop, and McAleer was arrested.

Garda Mark Cullen told Patrick Jackson BL, prosecuting, that a few months later, on May 31, 2023, an off-duty garda saw a group of males in an Audi A5 wearing caps and masks.

The rear licence plate was held on by rubber bands.

She contacted the gardai and an undercover garda car began surveillance on the Audi.

The court heard that a pursuit then began, and the Audi, which was being driven by McAleer, drove from Ballinteer to Tallaght, breaking red lights, driving in the wrong direction around roundabouts, mounting footpaths and driving in the middle of the road, forcing other cars to take evasive action.

The Audi also collided head-on with a motorbike, which caused the bike to become airborne.

The motorcyclist fractured her pelvis and hip due to the collision.

Gardai who were in pursuit of McAleer observed objects being thrown from the Audi, which included a long metal object and licence plates.

The car then travelled on the wrong side of the road on Maple Road in Tallaght, and a woman who was about to cross the road while pushing a buggy had to pull the buggy out of the way of the oncoming car.

The pursuit lasted for approximately 10 minutes, and when the Audi came to a stop, McAleer and the other passengers fled the car.

McAleer was arrested at the scene. Garda Air Support had also been deployed during the pursuit of the car.

Victim impact statements were handed in to the court but not read aloud.

Six garda vehicles were damaged, with one being completely written off, and two civilian cars were also damaged.

€87,000 worth of damage in total was caused during this incident.

One member of An Garda Síochána was injured and suffered a broken toe and a broken hand.

Det Sgt Finnegan agreed with Michael Hourigan SC, defending, that both incidents occurred in early 2023 and that his client was aged 20 at the time.

The garda agreed with counsel that no trial date was ever taken, and an early guilty plea was entered.

Mr Hourigan handed in medical reports outlining his client’s mental health difficulties.

He also told the court that McAleer had addiction issues at the time. Letters from McAleer and his family members were also handed into the court.

Counsel said his client has “very strong family support” and has shown “good insight into his offending”.

He said that while McAleer has been in custody, he has received awards, undertaken courses, and is working in the prison.

He is also attending AA meetings and is engaged to be married.

He asked the court to have regard to the totality principle and his client’s personal circumstances.