Laois man on social welfare tells court he pays driver €250 a week to drive him around

A man in receipt of €450 a week in State benefit told Portlaoise District Court that he pays €250 a week to a driver.

Agustin Muntean, Kilmalogue Court, Patrick Street, Portarlington, gave the sworn evidence in court last week when he pleaded not guilty to driving while uninsured at Patrick Street, Portarlington on May 13th last year.

Garda Shay Monaghan told the court that while on mobile patrol from Patrick’s Street to the Ring Road on May 13th, he saw the defendant driving the car and his wife in the passenger seat.

He said he was unable to deal with the matter that day, but the following day, he attended the defendant’s house, where he charged Muntean with the offence.

In reply to the charge being put to him, Garda Monaghan said the defendant replied: "It was not me. You disqualified me before."

"I reminded him I prosecuted him and that it was the judge who disqualified him. I was satisfied that it was Mr Muntean who I saw driving the car at the time. I have no doubt that it was him."

However, Muntean took the stand and said under oath: “I was not driving. I pay a driver to drive my car. The car is in his name and he is insured. I can’t drive. I’m banned off the road.”

Garda Sgt JJ Kirby asked the defendant: "How much do you pay the driver?" to which he replied: "€250 as week."

"Do you keep a ledger of a record of his pay slips?" asked Sgt Kirby.

Muntean said: “No. I’ve been paying to him for nearly the past year.”

Sgt Kirby estimated that Mr Muntean had paid the driver between €12,000 to €12,500 in that time.

Sgt Kirby said: “Garda Monaghan is adamant that it was you he saw driving at the time,” to which Mr Muntean said: “I wasn’t in the car at the time. My driver was driving the car that day. I was in Mullingar hospital at that time that day.”

Judge Andrew Cody asked whether the defendant was working, to which he said he wasn’t.

Judge Cody said: “There’s very few people in Ireland at the moment who can afford to pay a chauffeur. How much money do you get? How much money a week do you get?”

He told the judge that his wife receives a weekly social welfare payment of €450 for him and their six children, and €200 goes in rent and €250 to the driver.

“I also do markets and sell stuff at them – toys,” he said.

“So, you earn money from markets as well,” noted Judge Cody, “can you provide your P60 and payslips?”

The man who Muntean said was driving his car on the day took the stand and told the court: “I was driving on the day. He can’t drive. He pays me €250 a week and pays my insurance on the car.”

Sgt Kirby wanted to know whether he had any pay slips from Muntean or bank details of the income he derives from driving the defendant around, to which he said he hadn’t.

Sgt Kirby said that the driver and Muntean look completely different, that Muntean was balding and that the driver had a full head of hair and that Garda Monaghan saw clearly who was driving on the day.

He said what was being said in court was “a cock and bull story” and accused the driver of “telling lies.”

Defending barrister Andrew Dunne said that Muntean had put a plan in place to obtain a driver when he was disqualified from driving to drive him and his family around.

“Mr Muntean is very clear in his evidence that it was not him who was driving at the time. The court must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that he was driving,” said Mr Dunne.

Judge Cody said Muntean’s testimony could not stand up, because in a statement of means certificate to the court, a legally binding document, he said his only means of income was derived from a social welfare payment and that, in court, under oath, he said that he also obtained income from selling toys at markets.

“It’s all a lie,” said the Judge who was told that the 44-year-old defendant has 91 previous convictions, of which eight were for driving without insurance.

Dunne said that his client: “Continuously maintains that it wasn’t him driving, that it was his driver.”

Judge Cody convicted Muntean of driving while uninsured, imposed a €500 fine, sentenced him to six months in prison and disqualified him from driving for 20 years.

He went on to fix a €1,000 own bond recognisance, with a €500 cash lodgement in the event the defendant wished to appeal his decision, which Muntean took up before the court closed that day.

Funded by the Court Reporting Scheme.