Judge describes Ireland’s compensation scheme for victims of crime as ‘one of the meanest in Europe

The lack of an adequate compensation scheme for victims of crime in Ireland has been branded “an absolute disgrace” by a judge. Judge Keenan Johnson said it was “completely and utterly wrong” that innocent victims were often faced with large bills as a result of crimes being committed against them. He claimed Ireland had “one of the meanest systems in Europe” for compensating victims of crime. Judge Johnson made his remarks in a case before Portlaoise Circuit Criminal Court where a Dublin man stabbed another male in the stomach during an aggravated burglary at the home of his former partner eight years ago. The court heard the victim, Kevin Kenny, suffered losses totalling €7,900 as a result of his injuries. READ MORE: Former RTE journalist Tommie Gorman dies aged 68 READ MORE: Watch: Natasha O’Brien gets standing ovation in Dáil as TDs slate Cathal Crotty sentence “We spend a fortune on housing prisoners but very little on victims,” Judge Johnson remarked. Gavin Hanway, 53, of Limekiln Green, Walkinstown, Dublin was found guilty of a charge of assault causing serious harm to Mr Kenny at a house in The Hermitage, Portlaoise, Co Laois on July 26, 2016 following an eight-day trial last January. The court heard Mr Kenny suffered a stab wound to the abdomen in the incident. Hanway, a single man and former courier, was also convicted by a jury of an aggravated burglary at the same address, which was the home of his former partner, Teresa Ryan, on the same date. An ambulance was called to the scene and rushed the victim to the Midlands Regional Hospital in Portlaoise before he was subsequently transferred to hospital in Tullamore for surgery. Sergeant Kieran Shortall told the court that Ms Ryan was able to tell Gardaí that Hanway, with whom she had previously been in an on-off relationship, was the intruder. The court heard terrifying details of how Ms Ryan and members of a band who had played at a wedding, including Mr Kenny, were confronted by a male dressed in black with his face covered and carrying a knife shortly after arriving back to her home in the early hours of July 26, 2016. Sergeant Shortall said that “mayhem ensued” as the intruder started waving the knife in the direction of men in the house before Mr Kenny was stabbed. He told counsel for the DPP, Will Fennelly BL, that a “standout feature” of the incident was how the attacker approached Ms Ryan, who was cowering in a corner and stated: “I told you I would get you back.” Sergeant Shortall said Ms Ryan had been in a “turbulent” relationship with Hanway that she had ended a few months earlier. The witness said a relative of Ms Ryan also reported seeing the accused’s car in the locality a few hours earlier. The court heard Hanway denied any role in the incident after he was arrested by Gardaí and claimed he was in a cousin’s home in Dublin at the time, although he accepted he was in Portlaoise a short time earlier. Sergeant Shortall said the accused also maintained he had an alibi witness. However, he said a forensic examination of Hanway’s car had found glass fragments from Ms Ryan’s house. He said the stab wound to Mr Kenny had lacerated the victim’s small bowel in what was a potentially life-threatening injury if he had not received appropriate treatment. The court heard Hanway, who acts as a full-time carer for his elderly mother, had several previous convictions including one for stabbing someone in the face at a nightclub. In a victim impact statement, Ms Ryan told the court that she had always been “a people person” but now kept herself to a small circle of friends. She outlined how she is afraid to be anywhere on her own and is living in “constant paranoia”, as well as jumping at every sound she hears during the night. Ms Ryan said she required medication and counselling after the events of that night eight years ago. “I don’t think the fear will ever leave me completely,” she added. She described how Hanway regularly gave her abuse and tried to isolate her from her friends and make her account for wherever she went. “He tried to control everything,” she remarked. Ms Ryan said her former partner was a “coward” who had tried to make her feel herself to be a bad person. She recalled how she feared Hanway could turn up uninvited at her home with a knife. “My fears were justified,” she observed. The court heard how she had to leave her home and find new accommodation. Ms Ryan said she was also deeply troubled that someone had been injured in her house. However, she said she had tried to move on with her life and would finally get closure after Hanway had been found guilty of the charges. In a separate victim impact statement, Mr Kenny said he still carried the trauma of the day he was stabbed but could not understand how any human being could push a knife into another person. The court heard he experienced nightmares about having his hands pressed to his stomach with blood flowing through his fingers. Mr Kenny recalled how he thought he was dying while he was being brought to hospital in an ambulance and his fears about never seeing his children again. He described coming in and out of consciousness due to his injuries as well as seeing his family “visibly distraught” about his condition. He also expressed frustration about the delay in Hanway being brought to trial and his fears that the accused was still free and “could show up at any time”. Mr Kenny said he was out of work for three months and was left facing large medical bills, while also struggling with anxiety and depression. However, he stressed that he was “grateful to be alive” and praised the Gardaí and medical staff at the two hospitals for their help and assistance. Judge Keenan Johnson praised both victims over what he claimed was “an absolutely horrific experience”. Defence counsel, John Peart SC, said Hanway was “not a serial criminal” and was “not a serious knife attack monster”. Mr Peart said the accused had also shown he cared about others. However, Judge Johnson observed that Hanway had not expressed any remorse and had not accepted the verdict of the jury in his trial. The judge adjourned finalisation of sentencing in what he claimed was “an extremely serious case” until July 5. Join the Irish Mirror’s breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive breaking news and the latest headlines direct to your phone. 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