Burke gets six months for tax offences

national | crime and justice | other press

Monday January 24, 2005 14:20

by Tree dweller

Burke gets six months for tax offences

24 January 2005 12:46

Former Fianna Fáil minister Ray Burke has been jailed for six months by the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for tax offences.

Judge Desmond Hogan said that Mr Burke, who had held a number of senior Government portfolios including Environment, Justice, and Foreign Affairs, had abused his special position.

The judge said that as a member of the Dáil Mr Burke took part in the legislative process that affects the lives of everybody in Ireland.

Judge Hogan said Mr Burke's offences were premeditated acts to minimise his taxes, and that had had committed a breach of trust.

Mr Burke, 61, was a minister when the 1983 Finance Act, under which he was prosecuted, was passed into law.

The former politician pleaded guilty last July to knowingly or wilfully furnishing incorrect information during the Government's tax amnesty of 1993 by failing to declare an income of £91,980.

He also admitted knowingly or wilfully furnishing incorrect information to the Inspector of Taxes on or after December 1993 by failing to declare income of £24,038.

The investigation by the Criminal Assets Bureau that led to Mr Burke's arrest began in 2000, and in a search at his home a folder of information showed he had failed to fully declare his income over a nine-year period.

He had declared income from deposit accounts at just over £5,000 for the period 1982 to 1991. Actual earnings were over £97,000.

In mitigation, Judge Hogan considered Mr Burke's early guilty plea, his co-operation and the fact that he is now tax compliant. But he said he had abused his special position and a jail sentence was warranted.

The judge then imposed a six-month sentence and refused leave to appeal.

Mr Burke's lawyer, Patrick Hunt, earlier urged Judge Hogan not to jail his client, adding his previous position was no reason to scapegoat him.

save preference

Comments (10 of 10)

Prosecution, fine. :-)

by MIchael

Wed Jan 26, 2005 10:55

The Irish legal system needs to be reformed - I'm 100% with you there. For a start it's based on the (Judo-Christian) idea that to sort out our problems we've got to rely on some external, all seeing, all knowing, person who is "neutral" and knows best.

It's not all like that though. There are experiments where people sit and talk with the people they've wronged, learning and listening, and helping to find a better solution to the problem than was previously available from the courts. I can't remember the name of the program, but there's something like this for joy riders in Ballymun (or there was at least a few years ago). Nobody benefits when people who commit nonviolent crimes go to jail.

Why not have an open forum where people can meet with Mr Burke and other convicted corrupt politicians. You could have some mediators there, but only to help the meetings move along. We might find a creative solution to the problem which actually helps somebody.

Furthermore, we might discover (quite likely) that Mr Burke's crimes are only symptoms of a much wider problem which still exists. This isn't the same as the Rotten Apple Parade on display at the tribunals.

re michael

by mise

Wed Jan 26, 2005 00:58

No - quite the opposite in fact - I dont' believe in locking people up willy nilly, and I hope I didnt come across like that. No lengthy discussion - I'm tired.

Burke was probaly under the delusion that because of his position he was immune from prosecution - his crimes were therefore premeditated. He knew exactly what he was doing every time he took a bribe or filled in a false tax return.

These were not the "opportunist crimes" that are the norm in our courts every day. There should be two legal systems in fact one for the population at large and one for these people who think they are above the law - including the lawmakers themselves.

Reply to mise

by Michael

Tue Jan 25, 2005 23:33

Where's the sense in locking people up in prison who (a) are no threat to anyone if left at liberty, and (b) could help repair the damage they did without anyone being degraded?

You accuse me of being a government agent (*lol*), and yet your Victorian ideas of crime and punishment sound like something scripted by the PDs or FF's more right-wing members.

And besides, this is just a show which elites put on in every country every few years to regain credibility, self-belief, and control. The Left in America had the sense to see through the Martha Stewart charade.

Tue Jan 25, 2005 21:30

There is no half-way house the law is the law. And until such time as it is changed then it applies to everyone equally - more so if you choose a public life career path. I take it you work for a Government Media Dept.
and youir comments are simply a damage limitation exercise?

By your comments it take it also that you agree that members of the Judiciary and Gardai and other officials who have been nabbed in various Child Porn raids in the last few years - namely Ore and Amethyst - shouldn't be sent to jail?

I never said corruption in government should go unpunished

Tue Jan 25, 2005 20:36

I don't believe in locking people up, except perhaps those few prisoners who are highly likely to commit a violent crime if left at liberty.

The person above who joked about Burke being raped and infected with AIDS is just trolling, trying to provoke a reaction. Fuck off troll -- there, happy now? :-)
(in response to a comment now hidden - ed)

If someone does something wrong we've got to give them a chance to make it good again. Locking Burke in prison isn't going to deter anyone from doing what he did either -- they'll just do it better. Let him pay a fine, possibly review the status of his dail pension, and leave it be.

Tue Jan 25, 2005 16:45

So you think Corruption in Government should go unpunished? This fecker has been robbing the people of this country blind for years. Would a bank robber have got 6 months in his own cell with a telly? Hope his sentence is upped. Then there is the small matter of the 7 million euros he owes US when he gets out.

arbour hill

by pat c

Tue Jan 25, 2005 11:28

why was burke put in arbour hill? hes got a cell with its own toilet and his own TV. i think all prisoners should have better conditions but right now in mountjoy ordinary decent criminals are slopping out and only get access to tv for a couple of hours a day.

if burke needs to segregated for his own safety then send him to the basement in mountjoy!

Did I miss a meeting?

Mon Jan 24, 2005 20:54

Since when has sticking people in prison for this sort of thing been fair? Think about it: For the next six months he'll suffer in prison and you will all be paying the overtime for the prison guards who look into his cell every few hours.

And as for the person who commented above looking for an extension to this ratbag's stay in Mountjoy -- what the hell are you thinking? What sort of a society are we trying to create here? The bastard should simply be made pay a large fine. Leave it at that.

burke

Mon Jan 24, 2005 20:06

Did you notice he wasn't even handcuffed getting into the Garda van, spared the indignity. And he's "not going to get any special treatment", I hear on RTE. Utter bollox.

appeal the leniency of the sentence!

by past c

Mon Jan 24, 2005 14:40

the dpp can appeal the leniency of a sentence passed by the circuit court. while it is the policy of the dpp not to comment on individual sentences... blah, blah..
you could always bring the case to the attention of the dpp and suggest that he consider appealing the leniency of the sentence.

"Directing Division

The Director of Public Prosecutions,
Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions,
14 - 16 Merrion Street,
Dublin 2,
Ireland.

Tel: + 353 1 678 9222
Fax: + 353 1 661 0915 "

"E-mail

Please note that for reasons of confidentiality the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions cannot accept correspondence relating to criminal prosecution files by e-mail. Any correspondence relating to criminal prosecution files should be in writing and forwarded by post to 14 - 16 Merrion Street as outlined above.

Queries of a general nature can be e-mailed to:
E-Mail: dpp@dppireland.ie "

Number of comments per page

Upcoming Events

New Events

Other Press

User Preferences

Feeds

Blog Feeds

Public Inquiry

Human Rights in Ireland

Lockdown Skeptics

Voltaire Network

Burke gets six months for tax offences

Comments (10 of 10)