A Dublin father of four has asked a judge to overturn a decision by the Criminal Assets Bureau to block social welfare allowances to himself and his wife and "innocent" members of his family.
"I will admit I have a case to answer, but my children do not. They have done nothing wrong and shouldn't be in court in the first place", Mr James Gantley told Judge Yvonne Murphy.
Mr Gantley's family, all of whose social welfare allowances were disallowed, has appealed the decision to the Circuit Court. Mr Gantley, of Sundrive Road, Crumlin, his wife, Sharon, sons, James and Paul, and his daughter, Christine, are seeking a court order directing the Department of Social Welfare to restore their allowances.
Mr Gantley yesterday asked Judge Murphy to grant legal aid for the prosecution of the appeal.
Ms Nuala Jackson, counsel for the CAB, opposed legal aid on the grounds that the Gantleys could personally afford to pay their own legal representatives. She submitted also that the court did not have jurisdiction to grant legal aid and that the recently introduced ad hoc Legal Aid Scheme was restricted to parties other than appellants such as the Gantleys.
Ms Jackson said that documentation already handed to the court provided ample evidence that Mr Gantley was the beneficiary of considerable cash and property assets dating back to the early 1980s. She said the documents revealed his involvement in very considerable property dealings, both within and outside the jurisdiction, over the last five years, and cash transactions through bank accounts.
Judge Murphy reserved judgment until next week.