FORMER FIANNA FÁIL TD Colm Keaveney has been sentenced to 220 hours of community service and banned from driving for three years after admitting to driving under the influence of cocaine.

Judge James Faughnan said the 55-year-old had ‘suffered a significant fall from grace’ as he sentenced him to community service in lieu of four months in prison.

The court was told that the former Galway East TD had become addicted to cocaine after taking pain-killers when he suffered an injury in 2006.

Keaveney did not speak during the seven-minute hearing, which was the 15th time the matter had come before Tuam District Court in the past two years.

Keaveney, with an address at Kilcreevanty, Tuam, Co Galway, had pleaded guilty in September last year at Tuam District Court to driving under the influence of cocaine and to two counts of driving with no insurance.

Keaveney was arrested after being stopped at a checkpoint at Cummer near Tuam on 12 June, 2023.

Sgt. Christy Browne told a previous sitting of the court that Keaveney failed a roadside drug test and was arrested and brought to Tuam Garda station where a blood sample tested positive for cocaine.

The court heard that on 25 uly, 2024 at Vicar Street, Tuam Garda Michelle Hanlon stopped Keaveney for failing to produce a certificate of insurance on demand.

He was given ten days to supply his certificate to gardaí but was stopped again for the same offence four days later on 29 July, 2024 at the N17 Plaza, Farranamartin, Tuam.

The court was told that he produced an invalid certificate and was subsequently arrested by appointment and charged with driving with no insurance

Defence solicitor Gearoid Geraghty asked Judge Faughnan to take a number of factors into account.

“I would ask you to take into account that he has lost his family, he has lost his job, he has lost his career, his wife and he now live apart and he has taken steps to address his addiction,” said Mr Geraghty.

“He’s had a dramatic fall from grace. This man had a significant political career ahead of him, Judge. He’s had some significant personal difficulties. His brother tragically died in 2017. He was a carer for his parents at that time. Mr Keaveney assumed that role. Both of his parents died within weeks of each other in 2023.

“He had an injury in 2006 and became addicted to pain-killing medication. That unfortunately graduated to taking cocaine. Since then he has addressed these issues as outlined in the probation report. He has done residential treatment in Hope House. He has had significant mental health difficulties and he’s addressing those.”

Judge Faughnan said he was concerned by a probation report that placed Keaveney at a medium risk of reoffending but Mr Geraghty said that since it was compiled in November last year he hadn’t come to any adverse attention of the gardaí and pointed out that Keaveney had been stopped several times.

“I did indicate that community service would be on the table, and it remains on the table,” said Judge Faughnan. “So, yes, he has suffered a significant fall from grace, but the purpose of sentencing is deterrence and in that respect, I don’t expect to see this man in the court again.

“So community service is probably more suitable to him in those circumstances where he may be used through the probation services to address his issues.

“He seems to have taken the appropriate courses in that respect to addressing his issues, and hopefully, he’ll educate other people in the error of his ways.”

Sgt Browne told the court that Keaveney had two previous convictions.

In July last year he was fined €250 and banned from driving for four years in relation to an incident in Boyle in Co Roscommon in October 2024 when Keaveney failed to stop after a collision with another vehicle and subsequently failed to provide a blood or urine sample.

Judge Faughnan imposed 220 hours community service in lieu of four months imprisonment and disqualified Keaveney from driving for three years.

Keaveney was first elected to the Dáil as a Labour candidate in 2011. He then became an Independent before joining Fianna Fáil in 2013.

He lost his Dáil seat in 2016 but was elected to Galway County Council as a Fianna Fáil candidate in 2019 but did not seek re-election in 2024.