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Irish Examiner
09-07-2025
- Irish Examiner
Judge expresses worry for Cork man jailed for having scissors hidden in his pants in supermarket
A judge expressed concern about a man who was causing a disturbance at a supermarket having a scissors concealed in his underpants. Judge John King imposed a four-month prison sentence on David Johnson of no fixed address at Cork District Court for having the scissors, contrary to the Offensive Weapons Act. While the young man pleaded guilty to the offence, his solicitor Eddie Burke said there was no question of the accusing brandishing it anyway during the disturbance and he only had it for opening packets of food and so forth. The same defendant pleaded guilty to stealing €220 worth of clothing from Lifestyle Sports in Cork city centre on February 20. The incident at the supermarket occurred three days earlier at Lidl on Bishopstown Road, Cork. Sergeant Gearóid Davis said that following the arrest of David Johnson at Lidl he was searched later and found to have the scissors concealed in his underwear. The judge made the sentence consecutive to a period of 11 months imposed on him recently for other offences. For the shoplifting, Judge King imposed a sentence of five months suspended from when he comes out of prison. Mr Burke, solicitor, said the accused had certain challenges: 'He does understand the difference between right and wrong but there is a lot he does not understand. When he comes into town it is as if he wants to feel wanted by these people (who exercise an influence over him). He is certainly a very vulnerable person. 'He has an Asperger's diagnosis. It is quite sad but he was elated in prison to get three meals a day and somewhere to stay and have some structure in his day rather than sleeping in shopfronts.' Judge King said: 'I accept he is in a very difficult personal position at the moment. But the only one who can sort that out is himself. It is up to him to become motivated to change.' The judge directed that on his release he is to come under the direction of the probation service. 'He has to become a working member of society if he wants to get through this,' Judge King said.
Irish Times
02-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
The Irish Times view on consumer rights in Ireland: transparency in pricing vital
The least consumers should expect from retailers is honesty and transparency when it comes to product pricing. This is of particular importance during sales windows, when shoppers can be particularly vulnerable to manipulation. In a blizzard of promotional promises it can be difficult for the public to assess if deals on the table are real, or if the figures have been massaged to exaggerate the scale of the bargains. Sales pricing legislation introduced in 2022 requires traders to base discounts on the lowest price over a 30-day period before a sale begins and to display that lower price clearly - in essence it stops retailers hiking prices briefly in the run-up to a sale, before slashing them to suggest bigger savings. The early tests of the legislation have found some retailers wanting. Last week in the Dublin District Court, Boots admitted breaching the legislation following an online pricing sweep conducted by the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) in November 2023. READ MORE That sweep pinpointed three products that were listed as being on sale at prices that were either higher or at the same level as they had been at in the days leading up to a Black Friday sale. In erring in such a fashion, the pharmacy joined Lifestyle Sports, DID Electrical and Rath-Wood Home and Garden World who were before the courts in March. Boots expressed regret for the pricing anomalies which they attributed to human error and pointed out that the products represented a minuscule fraction of what was on promotion at the time the CCPC conducted its investigation. And no doubt this was indeed the case. While the transgressions were limited in scale, the CCPC deserves credit for taking the actions which should serve as a warning to others. The shops will no doubt wish they had not made headlines in such a fashion but ultimately, they and other retailers as well as consumers will benefit from the knowledge the system is slowly becoming more robust and more transparent.
