The man who cost the State millions of pounds, having admitted to bringing foot-and-mouth disease to Ireland, has been given a 12-month suspended sentence and fined €20,000 for making incorrect tax returns.
John Walsh (51), of Carlisle, England, and formerly of Longford House, Birr, Co Offaly, has been given 12 months to pay the fine. He pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of making incorrect tax returns for the years 1994 to 1996 on January 30th, 1997, and two counts of making late returns for those two tax years.
Walsh was jailed for three months at Dublin District Court in January after admitting four charges of illegally importing 279 sheep in contravention of EU regulations between February 19th and 20th, 2001. He is the only person to be charged over the disease.
Judge Elizabeth Dunne noted that Walsh had voluntarily ret-urned to Ireland and had co-operated with gardaí. He could not have been extradited for revenue offences.
Judge Dunne said she also had to consider that by the time Walsh sold a farm in Co Offaly - his only remaining asset - to meet his liabilities, he would have little or nothing left. "I note also that the figures involved are somewhat lower than other cases that I have dealt with and that an agreement has already been made with the Revenue Commissioners.
"It is under these circumstances, and the fact that he co-operated with the investigation, pleaded guilty, and bearing in mind the time already spent in custody, that I propose to deal with the case non-custodially," she concluded.
An inspector of taxes told Mr George Birmingham SC, prosecuting, that it was this investigation which led the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB) to make inquiries into Walsh's tax affairs.
He said that, in April last year, the CAB had seized a thick file about Walsh's tax affairs from accountants Harrison and Co in Tullamore, Co Offaly. They had found two trading profit and loss account documents in the file to be of interest.
The first one showed Walsh to have a net profit of £58,803 before depreciation for the year ending March 31st, 1995. The second one, known as a draft account, showed a net profit of £68,323 before depreciation for the year ending March 31st, 1996.
He said that all Walsh's tax returns returned a nil liability and a nil profit throughout the 1990s. The inspector said that the CAB then contacted various meat marts around the country to try to establish the level of trading Walsh was involved in.
He was living in England at the time, but returned on April 25th after being contacted by the CAB.
The inspector said that on Tuesday, just before Walsh was due to go on trial, an agreement was made between him, the Revenue Commissioners and the CAB to pay a substantial judgment.