A vulnerable mum was left “traumatised” after being “dragged barefoot in her pyjamas” from her home on foot of a lapsed warrant over an unpaid TV licence fine.
Natasha, from Shankhill in South Dublin, told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “They dragged her down the front path in her bare feet and pyjama bottoms. It’s like something out of the dark ages, it’s shocking. A warrant for her arrest for non-appearance at court – seen by this newspaper – was issued on May 30, 2022.
Louis said: “I tried to explain that my mother wouldn’t be fit to sit in a cell. At 4.45pm, my mother emerged from the courtroom. She was extremely upset, in a complete trance. It took a few minutes for her to come back to us. “I feel someone should be account- able for how my mother was treated and the impact it has had on her mental health, also the stress her family was put through.”
“The formal execution of a bench warrant by arresting the named person is necessary, where other options to execute a warrant by arrangement have been made and failed.“An Garda Síochána is obliged to carry out its functions in a manner which is human rights compliant. She said gardai interact with thou- sands of persons, including persons with vulnerabilities on a daily basis.