Signing cheques with no money to meet them was now a criminal offence which carried a maximum 10-year prison sentence on indictment, the Galway Circuit Criminal Court heard.
Yesterday, in what was believed to be the first prosecution to be brought under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences)Act, 2001, Peter Corcoran (40), Monument Road, Menlo, Galway, pleaded guilty to dishonestly appropriating €5,300 worth of building materials and bathroom fittings, the property of two builders' providers in the city, by writing cheques knowing there was no money to meet them in his cheque book account, on two separate dates in August 2002.
Mr Martin Giblin SC, defending, said this new legislation would come as a surprise to many people, particularly the business community.
He said his client ran into financial difficulties with his bank, ACC, when a house he had purchased in Menlo with the intention of renovating and selling on at a profit, ran into difficulties with title to a right-of-way and planning permission for a conservatory.
Mr Giblin said his client was unaware the new legislation had just been enforced in August 2002, and that signing cheques with no funds to meet them was now a criminal offence.
Corcoran, Mr Giblin said, had never any intention of permanently depriving people of their goods and always intended to repay them, even with interest.
Both injured parties had been repaid in full, the court was told.
Judge Harvey Kenny accepted that Corcoran had run into financial difficulties while renovating the house.
However, he said it was a serious offence to "bounce" a cheque.
Since the introduction of the 2001 Act, the bouncing of a cheque could now have serious consequences, carrying fines and a 10-year prison sentence, the judge said.
He sentenced the accused to 18 months in prison, but suspended the sentence for three years, on condition that the accused did not reoffend during that time.