Former president of the Irish Farmers Association (IFA), John Dillon, was jailed and subsequently released today after refusing to pay a fine imposed on him by a court last year.
Mr Dillon was fined €200 in May 2011 and ordered to pay costs of €2,000, after he refused to remove electronic signs he used to help run his General Election campaign last year, which Limerick County Council said were a public hazard.
Shortly after 10am, gardaí arrested Mr Dillon at his home in Pallasgreen Co Limerick and took him to Limerick prison.
However, he was released from the prison three hours later, after an unidentified person paid both the fine and the court costs.
Speaking outside Limerick prison after his release, a visibly shaken Mr Dillon said: “They (prison staff) took all my particulars and I was put into a cell, a very very cold cell. It would freeze you fairly well, and then they called me a couple of hours later and said they were releasing me. They didn’t give me any reason. They just said you’re released.”
“I was put into a cell with four walls, a very cold cell, and the seats weren’t too comfortable either. Another guy was put into the cell a short time after me. He did tell me that he is up in court again in the next couple of weeks for attempted murder.”
He added: “I never wanted to go to jail. Jail is not the place to be. That’s a place for criminals - I’m not a criminal and I believe I should never have been put into jail. I never regretted anything I ever did in my life so, I don’t regret anything (now).”
Despite confirmation from Gerry Curran, Courts Service Press Officer, and from a prison source, that the fine and court costs had been paid, Mr Dillon maintained he had not paid the fine.
“I ordered anybody that pay a fine on my behalf would be actually an enemy of mine. I would not appreciate it or thank them one bit. There is no fine to be paid or no expenses. The expenses is a big issue of course. €2000 expenses for one day in court and €200 of a fine. To me, that, in itself, was a bit over the top”.
Mr Dillon said he was offered lunch in jail but he refused saying he would have gone on hunger strike for the eight days he was prepared to spend in jail.
The ex-IFA President was convicted by Newcastle West District Court in May 2011 for failing to remove flashing electronic signage, which Limerick County Council claimed were a safety hazard.
The industrial sized signs were erected on the sides of roadways during last year’s General Election campaign, when he failed to get elected to the Dáil as an Independent candidate.