Laois man tells judge - ‘pleading guilty or not guilty for €5 worth of cocaine makes no difference to me’
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“PLEADING guilty or not guilty for €5 worth of cocaine makes no difference to me.” That’s what a 31-year-old man replied at Portlaoise District Court when he was asked how he wished to plea to a charge of possessing cocaine at O’Moore Place, Portlaoise on 13 October 2025.
Robert Dwane, Mountain View, Portlaoise appeared in court by video link from Wheatfield Prison.
“€5 of cocaine. What difference if I said guilty or not guilty. Pleading guilty or not guilty for €5 worth of cocaine makes no difference to me.” However, when informed by his solicitor Josephine Fitzgerald that his case was in court for a plea, he replied “guilty.” Garda Sgt JJ Kirby said that when the defendant was stopped by gardaí at the time, they found him in possession of the drug.
He said Mr Dwane had 36 previous convictions, six of which were under the Misuse of the Drugs Act, “the last offence in 2023, where he made a false report.” Ms Fitzpatrick said that the amount of the drug found on her client was “very, very small. He’s on remand on other serious matters. He has been in custody for a time and has had plenty of time to reflect on his actions.” Judge Susan Fay convicted Mr Dwane of the offence and sentenced him to seven days in prison.
