A CO GALWAY father and mother have been sent for trial on more than 300 charges of abusing their children.
The husband will stand trial in the Central Criminal Court and his wife will stand trial at the Circuit Criminal Court in Galway after appearing before Athenry District Court yesterday.
The couple, who cannot be named for legal reasons, have been in custody since they were arrested on Christmas Eve.
A previous court sitting in Ennis was told that all their children are now in care.
The 49-year-old father faces 289 charges of rape, buggery and indecent assault of four of his daughters over an 18-year period.
Garda Marie Hession gave evidence of serving the book of evidence on the accused man yesterday, who also faces two charges of neglect and cruelty towards his son.
Insp Seán Colleran applied to have him returned for trial. He told Judge Joseph Mangan that the Director of Public Prosecutions was willing to accept a return for sentence in the event of a signed plea.
Judge Mangan sent the man forward to the current sitting of the Central Criminal Court in Dublin after being told by defence solicitor Gearóid Geraghty that the matter of a signed plea by his client did not arise at this time.
The man was granted free legal aid.
Judge Mangan was told that the man had been granted bail by the High Court but had been unable to take it up to date.
Judge Mangan remanded him in custody with consent to bail.
His 45-year-old wife is facing 18 charges of neglect and cruelty towards her children between 2002 and last year.
Det Garda Kieran McNamara told Judge Mangan that he served the book of evidence on the woman yesterday.
Judge Mangan was told that the Director of Public Prosecutions was also willing to have her sent forward for sentence if there was a signed plea, but defence solicitor Sheena McCarthy said this did not arise at the moment.
The judge therefore returned the woman for trial to the next sitting of Circuit Criminal Court at Galway.
She was granted free legal aid. She was remanded her in custody as a bail application had been refused by the High Court.