The use of false quotations in a bid to secure grants has resulted in a conviction, though the sentence was fully suspended after “exceptional” circumstances were set out in court and accepted by the judge
A former Cycling Ireland officer, Garry Nugent (51), has been given a suspended sentence for his role in a controversial – and illegal – incident that saw false quotations being used to apply for Government grants.
However, a court in Dublin has been told Nugent never stood to gain personally and that the grants applied for would have been used to buy new tandems for the Tokyo Paralympics, and timing kit, had they been secured. It was also made clear Nugent, Drumrrer Lane, Coalisland, Tyrone, had never been convicted of any offence in the past.
A detective Garda who investigated the case also told the court he would be “shocked” if Nugent ever ended up back before the courts again. This was accepted by the judge, who also accepted the circumstances Nugent was in were very unusual.
There was a tight time frame to apply for the grants for Cycling Ireland before the money would be lost, because the window to apply was closing. There was further pressure as the bikes being ordered were specialist items that would take quite some time to build.
Furthermore, all of the events occurred in the early phase of the pandemic. It was also accepted Nugent had “made a wrong decision” during his efforts to secure the money for Cycling Ireland. He had lost his job with Cycling Ireland, though was now working again.
An 18-month sentence was imposed but was fully suspended by Judge Orla Crowe at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, given the background of the case and Nugent’s non-criminal background. He had also pleaded guilty, had apologised and had agreed to keep the peace during the duration of the suspended sentence.
Nugent is the former events officer for Cycling Ireland and pleaded guilty to two charges of attempting to deceive the Department of Transport, on dates between March and June in 2020.
Cycling Ireland had been advised that the grants were available but would be lost if they were not applied for soon. Two grants – of €100,000 and €75,000 – were to be combined to buy the tandems for leading riders, and Cycling Ireland was permitted to combine the money in that way.
In order to fulfil procurement conditions, three quotations for the items had to be supplied when the grants were being applied for.
Det Nevan Hartley told the court Nugent was responsible for supplying two false quotations, which were lodged along with one genuine quotation document. He was also responsible for supplying another false quotation for a grant of €52,100, which was to be used to buy timing equipment.
The documents were uploaded by another person and the application was ultimately not successful, with no loss to the State. Det Hartley, giving evidence for the Garda in court, said the grants were being applied for in a narrow window of time.
He also agreed with Cathal McGreal BL, representing the accused, that Nugent was “an ordinary decent man” under pressure who submitted the false quotations to satisfy the tendering system requirements. This was a “wrong decision”.
Judge Crowe fully suspended the sentence and said while Nugent was not entitled to do what he did, there were “exceptional circumstances”. He had also admitted his involvement from the start, had apologised and there was no financial benefit for him.