Fianna Fáil Councillor, John Paul Feeley has welcomed confirmation that convicted sex-offender, Trevor Byrne has been tracked by The Star to Ballyconnell after he left Dublin’s north inner city last week. ‘I was very concerned that this individual had come to live in Ballyconnell. Whilst he has served his sentence, it is very clear that he has a very serious criminal record and his arrival was greeted with dismay by the local community. Naturally, I am concerned that such a person would come to our area and at the incredible waste of limited Garda resources in that he was under constant surveillance by the Garda Siochana.’ Byrne, who attacked three women in the past 21 years, despite only being out of prison for less than 49 hours had been living in a B&B in Dublin’s north inner city following his release from the Midland’s Prison in Portlaoise. The serial criminal, of O’Devanny Gardens off the North Circular Road, has only spent mere hours out of prison in the last 20 years and gardai are fearful he may strike again. He was released after being convicted of an attempted burglary in Phibsboro, Dublin in September of 2009. In 2005, he was handed a prison sentence for attacking a Filipino nurse and threatening to slash her throat. When that attack occurred he had just completed a prison term for a heinous crime committed in the early nineties. In 1993, Byrne was handed a 15-year sentence for the rape of an 18-year-old girl. ‘The reality is that the problem has simply moved on to another community. Government must provide a framework for the protection of society from such convicts to monitor there movements and ensure they cannot continue what are the most disgusting criminal activities. Communities are entitled to know if such a person moves into their area also.’ Ends
John Paul Feeley
Fianna Fáil Member of Cavan County Council
