Judge Gillian Hussey said yesterday she had decided not to vote in the forthcoming bail referendum. Speaking at Kilmainham Court, Judge Hussey said she did not intend to vote, for the first time in her life, on something she described as "nonsense".
"There would be no reason to change the bail laws if sentences were being served," the District Judge said. "I came to this decision very reluctantly, but after 10 years here in Kilmainham I have seen sentences not being served year after year after year."
Judge Hussey made her comments during the case of Derek Foley (25), of St McCarthy's Terrace, Rialto, Dublin, who is charged with stealing a car from Heuston Station on October 9th. The court heard that due to temporary release Foley had only recently begun serving a 22-month sentence imposed in September 1995.