A Polish man who has been in Ireland for almost 20 years appeared before Dublin District Court on charges of breaching the Public Order Act where he was was told to “stop drinking on the streets”
On the 19th of October last Marian Rokosz was found “slurring his words” and “unstable on his feet” and became “aggressive” towards Gardaí when cautioned.
Garda Manus Murphy told the court that Rokosz has 27 previous convictions “mainly for public order” and previously received a number of fines one of which was for €110 and €150.
His defending counsel said that his client has lost his home and his relationship with his partner because of his “indiscretions due to alcohol” and that he is now “working in Wicklow” in a job he has had for 3 months.
He is a “skilled casual labourer” who “gets out of bed at 5am and works until 7pm” to keep him from drinking, the defending counsel said.
Recognising the accused from other court appearance, Judge Michele Finan said she had “met him before” and that the court would “leave him without a conviction.”
Addressing Rojosz directly, Judge Finan said, “You’re doing so well, will you just stop drinking on the streets?” adding, “We all have problems with alcohol.”
The case was dealt with by way of Section 1.1 of the Promotion of Offenders Act 1907 meaning that the accused was allowed to leave court having received no sanction.