Ten animal welfare charities operating at various locations in Cork City and county got a welcome windfall in the form of a €2,750 payment to each of them.
The matter arose out of the conviction of a man running a now defunct cat welfare charity for stealing money from the organisation. When sentencing in his case took place earlier this month, the accused man brought the full amount of the money he stole from Cat Haven to court.
Judge Helen Boyle gave the prosecution at Cork Circuit Criminal Court an opportunity to consult again with the charities regulator about the best way to apportion the €27,500 compensation for the benefit of cats in Co Cork, noting it could not be repaid to Cat Haven, which has been removed from the register of charities.
Garda Maura O’Riordan told Judge Boyle that she had contacted the charities regulator since the sentencing earlier this month.
“They provided a list of charities providing services of a similar nature in Cork City and county,” Garda O’Riordan said.
Judge Boyle said the most appropriate way to deal with the matter was to direct the payment of €2,750 to each of 10 charities.
Owen Collins, 32, of Mountain Barracks, Mitchelstown, Co Cork, had a sentence of a two-and-a-half years suspended on condition he would continue under the care of his psychotherapist dealing with his gambling addiction for the next two and a half years.
There were 39 charges on the indictment and most of the ch
