DUP leader questions decision to grant bail to woman charged with possession of explosives

By Gráinne Ní Aodha, Press Association

The Irish justice system has “serious questions to answer” over bail granted to a woman charged with possession of explosives near the border, the DUP leader has said.

Gavin Robinson made the comments after a 25-year-old law student appeared before a district court after a bomb was found in her car in Co Monaghan on Wednesday.

Isobella Perrie Sullivan, 25, of Abbeylands Park in Clane, Co Kildare, was stopped at Aclint, Carrickmacross, and a bag was discovered in the back of her car containing Semtex and a detonator, the court heard.

Her solicitor Gavin Booth said she had been asked to take a bag to the north, and had not been aware what was in it.

Perrie Sullivan was granted bail but remains in custody ahead of a further bail hearing on Monday

The bail conditions include a 15,000-euro independent surety, that she surrenders her passport, stays at an address approved by gardaí with a curfew of 9pm to 7am, has a mobile phone available 24/7 and signs in each day at Naas Garda Station.

On Saturday, Mr Robinson questioned the court’s decision and whether it appreciated “the gravity” of the case.

“The discovery of a viable Semtex bomb should have reminded everyone that dissident republican terrorism remains a lethal threat,” he said in a statement.

“The decision to grant bail will leave many people asking whether the justice system appreciates the gravity of that reality.

“If involvement in the transport of a viable Semtex bomb is not enough to keep an accused person in custody, the Republic’s justice system has some serious questions to answer.

“Terrorism is unlike any other form of criminality, and decisions in such cases must reflect the gravity of the threat posed to innocent lives.”

Another person, a man in his 40s, remains in custody at a Garda station in the Dublin area.