An arsonist who set a fire at an apartment leaving residents, including his estranged father, “with nothing” has launched an appeal against his eight-and-a-half-year sentence.
Jason Hughes (21), of Bawnlea Green, Tallaght, Dublin 24, admitted one count of arson on December 9, 2022. The offence carries a sentence of up to life in prison.
Jailing Hughes at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court in October 2023, Judge Martin Nolan said there could have been a “significant chance of fatalities” if one of the occupants of the apartment had not been awake to raise the alarm.
The court heard that up to €90,000 of damage was caused during the attack at Pairc Na Greine, Tallaght, and the victims, who included the defendant’s father, were “left with nothing”.
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CCTV footage from the area showed Hughes walking towards the complex before climbing over the balcony’s railings. He left shortly afterwards. Two minutes later flames became visible.
Giollaíosa Ó Lideadha SC, for Hughes, told the Court of the Appeal on Tuesday that the 12-year headline sentence was too high, that the sentencing judge failed to properly consider Hughes’ personal circumstances and that a portion of the sentence should have been suspended to incentivise rehabilitation.
He said the offence should have been placed in the middle of the mid-range, attracting a headline sentence of between five and 10 years.
A discount should have been applied thereafter and a further portion of the sentence should have been suspended to incentivise rehabilitation, Mr Ó Lideadha said.
He said that while there was no doubt this was “a very serious case” where a custodial sentence was required, the court was bound to take into account the fact that Hughes was a young man, aged 19 at the time, who had lived a “chaotic life” and who had made a serious suicide attempt on the same day as this incident occurred.
He said Hughes had ADHD and other cognitive difficulties and had witnessed domestic violence.
Mr Ó Lideadha said one of the victims in the case was Hughes’s estranged father.
The barrister said there was evidence in the psychological report that Hughes felt “aggrieved” by his estrangement from his father and had stated he would never have committed the offence had he been sober.
But Aoife McNickle, for the Director of Public Prosecutions, said the circumstances of the case brought the offence into the upper band. She said Hughes was aware the property was occupied by his father and others at the time.
Ms McNickle said it could be inferred from the psychological report that Hughes’s motivation was due to “some animosity or anger” towards his father.
She said there was nothing put before the court that would have obliged the sentencing judge to suspend any portion of the jail term.
Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy said the three-judge court would reserve judgment and deliver its decision at a later date.
