A SON OF Gerry “The Monk” Hutch has been denied bail pending his trial for facilitating organised crime involving allegations of high-level “infiltration” of An Garda Síochána.

Jason Murphy, also known as Jason Hutch (37), has been in custody on remand for two months after being extradited to Ireland from Lanzarote, where he had been living long-term.

His fiancée, Louise Meade, a qualified solicitor, told the High Court in Cloverhill that Mr Murphy was “a fantastic partner and very much a family man”, adding that “his goal, should he be granted bail, would be to get married and hopefully extend our family”, and remain in Ireland.

However, Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford held he was a flight risk, saying, “he has means to relocate to another jurisdiction beyond the reach of the State.”

The accused, of The Paddocks, Clontarf, Dublin 3, was returned aboard the government’s Dassault Falcon 6X jet aircraft on the afternoon of 10 September.

Before that, he had been in custody in Spain since last April, following his detention on foot of a European Arrest Warrant.

The Garda National Bureau of Criminal Investigation (GN BCI) charged him under Section 72 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006.

Mr Murphy is accused of participating in or contributing to activities to facilitate the commission of a serious offence by a criminal organisation or any of its members.

These acts allegedly took place at an unknown location between 12 April 2016, and 29 September 2021, while he resided in Lanzarote.

The offence carries a maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment on conviction.

Due to the nature of the allegation, he had to bring a High Court bail application.

Ms Justice Lankford heard evidence and legal submissions over two days, concluding on Thursday.

Delivering her ruling, she stressed the seriousness of the charges, noting they effectively involved infiltration at the “highest echelon of An Garda Síochána”.

The judge also heard the case was linked to the pending Special Criminal Court trial of retired Garda Superintendent John Murphy and three serving but currently suspended gardaí.

The bail hearing was told that Jason “Jamie” Murphy has yet to be served with a book of evidence and sent forward for trial.

She said the case was strong and created a real incentive for the accused to flee the jurisdiction.

Justice Lankford noted that Mr Murphy had to be returned on a European Arrest Warrant, which, while not an automatic bar to bail, was a factor the court had to consider.

She noted that since 2018, he had spent a significant period in Spain and Lanzarote, spending only a short time in Ireland in the intervening years.

The court heard he had travelled back and forth, but not regularly, with his fiancée instead travelling out to see him more often.

She held that he was capable of setting up and living in another jurisdiction.

Ms Meade gave evidence in support of the bail application, led by her partner’s counsel, Aoife O’Leary BL. She told the court she had known him for 23 years, and they had been in a long-term relationship for seven years.

Throughout that time, he had lived abroad while she had always resided in Ireland. Her evidence of regular visits during their long-distance relationship was supported by documentation, including emails, phone data, and photographs, showing she had frequently visited him in Spain.

She also provided details of Mr Murphy’s visits to Ireland over the years: he spent 10 days in Ireland in April 2018, approximately four months between April and July 2020, and 10 days in 2021 around the time of her birthday, and from November 2021 until February 2022.

Since the investigation commenced in October 2024, Mr Murphy had been subject to conditions in Spain that prevented him from leaving the country. Ms Meade stated that he is the father of their young child and had not been able to come to Ireland at the time of the baby’s birth.

She agreed with Ms O’Leary that they were anxious about not missing important family milestones such as Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and birthdays, while it was paramount that he complied with his conditions in Spain.

Cross-examined by Keith Branagan BL for the State, Ms Meade said she had no intention of fleeing the country; she stressed that she was committed to her work with the Guardian ad Litem National Service, and had studied for years for her career.

She acknowledged that Covid-19 restrictions had impacted visits and travel, describing how she would fly over for weekends to see him whenever possible.

Justice Lankford considered whether strict bail conditions and two significant independent sureties offered on his behalf could address the State’s concerns.

However, she ruled that, on the balance of probabilities, Mr Murphy was a substantial flight risk who would not remain in the jurisdiction to attend his trial, expected in about 12 months, if granted bail.

Mr Branagan argued that Mr Murphy had an incentive to flee and could continue his alleged activities from abroad, emphasising that he had not returned to Ireland at all in 2023 or for three-quarters of the following year.

He said the case related to high-level infiltration of gardaí and sending information on to an organised crime group.

Addressing Ms Meade’s evidence, counsel submitted that while the accused had family and ties to the jurisdiction, those links had not been significant enough to bring him home from Lanzarote.

The court also heard evidence that Mr Murphy possessed a Nigerian driving licence with a misspelt name, which the defence explained dated back to when he worked there 15 years ago, but Ms Justice Lankford did not regard that as a strong objection.

Ms O’Leary BL submitted there was no evidence of continued offending by her client beyond the 2016 to 2021 timeframe of the charges, noting her client had no previous convictions or bench warrant history, and that co-accused from the same investigation had been granted High Court bail without State objection.

She argued it was “ludicrous” to suggest he could abscond to an unidentified country without extradition links, as he would never see his fiancée or child again if any family visit risked detection. The Director of Public Prosecutions has decided that Mr Murphy will face trial on indictment at a higher level. However, the precise trial venue was not stated.