Kildare's drug problem 'is a like a biblical plague' says judge

Illegal drug use within County Kildare has been likened to a biblical plague or the Covid 19 pandemic by the sitting judge.

Presiding judge Desmond Zaidan made the comments during the hearing of a case concerning a spate of thefts from unoccupied and unlocked cars in the Newbridge area.

A man who appeared before Naas District Court was sentenced by the judge for incidents including the thefts on dates in October at The View, Belin Woods and College Farm.

The stolen items included sunglasses, a tablet, and cash. There was also an attempt made to enter a vehicle, which was captured on a CCTV system.

Sgt Mary Meade also told the court that the man ran from gardaí in Patrick Street, Newbridge and when he was stopped and searched a small knife was discovered on him . The 33 year old was arrested and was "highly abusive to gardaí.”

The court was also told that no damage was caused to the vehicles and none of them was broken into by him.

Defending solicitor Matt Byrne said the defendant was dealing with a drug habit and at times he has been able to address this issue.

However he also said the defendant was now “at the bottom of the pile" in terms of accessing treatment because he had spent some time in custody.

Mr Byrne also told the court that the man’s partner is pregnant and he wants to pursue treatment for drug abuse.

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Mr Byrne said that if his client could “stay away from certain individuals" his treatment would have a greater chance of success.

Judge Zaidan said all the incidents had taken place to feed a drug habit.

“It's a plague on society like Covid 19 or a biblical plague,” he said,  agreeing with Mr Byrne that the State does very little to help people with a drug problem.

The judge said it should be possible to send a defendant to a treatment centre rather than jail only to be released when a course of treatment has been successfully completed.

“Drug addiction is a life sentence and I'd be happy if I was told (in the future) that he is drug free,” added Judge Zaidan.

The defendant told the court he started taking drugs at 18 years of age. He received his first conviction in 2011 at the age of 20 for a breach of the Public Order Act..

He also told the court his family was involved in drugs.

The judge imposed custody terms totalling 20 months.