The owner of a discount store has been fined for having cigarette products that did not carry an Irish tax stamp.
Anthony Walsh (66) of Woodstown Hill, Woodstown Village, Dublin 16, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to an offence that he kept, for sale or delivery, the cigarettes and tobacco without the relevant tax stamps in Breathnach’s Bargains Newsagent, St Dominics Shopping Centre, Tallaght, Dublin.
The shop is also known as ‘Dominics Crazy Deals’.
Carol Doherty BL, prosecuting, told the court that Revenue officers received confidential information that cigarettes were being sold without an Irish Tax Stamp from the newsagents and subsequently customs officers carried out test purchases in May 2022.
Counsel said a warrant was secured and Walsh’s shop was searched on May 11, 2022. During the search, 44,560 cigarettes and 2.75 Kg of hand-rolled tobacco were found. The products did not carry the Irish Tax Stamp.
Ms Doherty said €78,000 in cash was also found and Walsh allowed for this cash to be confiscated without question. Counsel said the estimated loss to Revenue was €27,786.
Walsh has previous convictions for selling medicinal products, imitation Viagra, from the same shop in September 2011 and April 2012.
He also has convictions for failure to make VAT returns and failure to file income tax returns.
Judge Orla Crowe said Walsh was “keeping for sale tobacco products without the relevant tax stamps” and knew what he was doing was wrong.
She acknowledged that he is a man who has helped people in his local community, including the homeless and people who have difficulty paying for food.
“On the one hand, he is a person who has contributed to society but on the other he has engaged in criminal activity,” which Judge Crowe said had deprived society at large from revenue to run the various State services.
Judge Crowe acknowledged that Walsh had offered assistance and had not contested the confiscation order in relation to the cash found in his shop. She fined him €5,000, which she said must be paid within three months.
Hugh Hartnett SC, defending, told the court that his client has been “a huge benefit to his local community” before he handed a booklet of testimonials into court.
He said a local boxing club said that Walsh has provided sponsorship to the club over a number of years and is “very kind and generous with his time”.
A public health nurse stated that Walsh showed repeated genuine compassion for struggling families in the area and has gone “above and beyond” what would be expected of a business owner.
Mr Hartnett said his client runs a bargain store and is “clearly very much a part of his community”.
He asked the court to take into account the fact that Walsh did not challenge the seizure of the cash found in his shop during the search.
Funded by the Courts Reporting Scheme