A former Cycling Ireland events officer has been given an 18-month suspended sentence for producing fake quotations that were later submitted in an attempt to secure a sports grant.
Garry Nugent (51), of Drumrrer Lane, Coaslisland, Co Tyrone, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two charges of attempting to deceive the Department of Transport on dates between March and June 2020. He has no previous convictions.
Det Garda Nevan Hartley told prosecution barrister Simon Donagh that Cycling Ireland had been advised that grants of €100,000 and €75,000 were available to it and would be lost if not claimed.
Cycling Ireland intended to combine the grants to apply for tandem bicycles which would have been used in the Paralympic Games. The organisation had been given permission to combine the two grants and was required to provide three quotations to support the application.
The detective said Nugent was responsible for providing two false quotations in relation to this application and a further false quotation in relation to another grant for €52,100. The latter grant was intended to be used for timing equipment.
The false quotations were uploaded by another person, along with a genuine quotation, to support the applications. The court heard Cycling Ireland ultimately did not receive the grants.
The detective said Cycling Ireland was under time pressure to submit the applications and there was a “narrow window” during which the tandem bicycles could be manufactured.
He said that due to the tight timeline, and the fact “all of this was happening” during the pandemic, “the wrong decision was made to submit each fake quotation”.
The detective said although there was no loss to the State, Cycling Ireland suffered reputational damage and lost a sponsor.
He agreed with defence barrister Cathal McGreal that Nugent was “an ordinary decent man who was put under specific pressure” and provided the false quotations “to satisfy a tender requirement”. It was also accepted that Nugent did not gain personally or financially due to his actions.
The detective agreed with the defence when it was put to him that he had no concerns about Nugent ever coming back before the courts.
“I would be shocked if he did,” he added.
McGreal said his client was a married man with two teenage children. He lost his job with Cycling Ireland but is working again.
Judge Orla Crowe said she accepted the evidence that the grants “were going to disappear if they were not applied for”.
She said the offending occurred in “exceptional circumstances” during the first Covid-19 lockdown and there was “a certain urgency perceived”.
Crowe accepted that Nugent admitted his involvement from the outset, had apologised and had not benefited financially from the offending.
She noted that he “played an active role” and was “not entitled to try and deceive” the grant provider as he had done.
The judge set a headline sentence of three years, but imposed a sentence of 18 months suspended in full on strict conditions including that Nugent be of good behaviour for three years.