Court hears man made over 10,000 hoax phone calls to emergency services

Tom Tuite

A Dublin man made over 10,000 hoax phone calls to emergency services and took up almost 130 hours of operators’ time, a court has heard.

William Greene, 48, Bective Square, D7, is charged under section 13 of the Post Office (Amendment) Act, 1951, for persistently making telephone calls to cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety to another without reasonable cause.

Mr Greene, who is on disability allowance, was remanded in custody by Judge Bryan Smyth at Dublin District Court on Thursday.

The Director of Public Prosecutions directed his case remain in the District Court if he pleaded guilty.

Detective Garda Jeremy Gibbons said the accused allegedly made persistent calls to the Emergency Call Answering Services (ECAS).

“The specific issue related to two phone numbers that made contact with ECAS between April 8 and November 9, 2023.”

“There were over 10,000 phone calls over this period of time and in total, it is estimated that the caller was taking up 129 hours of ECAS call-takers time in answering these calls,” Detective Garda Gibbons told Judge Bryan Smyth.

“None of the calls were real emergencies,” he said, and the court heard that most of the calls were made while under the influence of alcohol.

Based on the facts outlined in the preliminary hearing, Judge Smyth refused jurisdiction and held the case should be sent forward to the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court, which has broader sentencing powers.

Mr Greene, who was not required to give evidence, had been ordered earlier to obey bail conditions: remain sober, sign on regularly at his local garda station, not purchase a mobile phone, and “not contact 999 emergency services”.

Applying for a revocation of bail, Detective Garda Gibbons alleged that on October 2 and the following day, the accused made another 320 calls to the emergency service line. The detective said the man’s home was also searched on Thursday, and it was alleged that there were 14 empty lager cans.

Defence solicitor Stephen O’Mahony said his client maintained the cans did not belong to him.

The allegation of further recent calls to the ECAS line was not disputed.

The detective agreed with the solicitor that his client had a certain psychosis, and it was not exaggerated.

The court heard he had gone to a treatment programme and would continue to engage with professional help, and the defence pleaded that custody was not the best place to assist him with his issues.

Judge Smyth accepted he had underlying mental health difficulties but said it was a serious matter.

Refusing bail, he remanded Mr Greene in custody pending the preparation of a book of evidence; he will appear again in court next week.