Partner of Sinn Féin TD appears in court on drugs possession charge

  2 hrs ago

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The partner of a sitting Clare Sinn Féin TD has appeared for the second time in court in connection with a minor drugs possession charge.

At Kilrush District Court sitting in Ennis, partner of Clare TD, Violet Ann Wynne, John Montaine appeared in connection with the alleged illegal possession of cannabis at the family home at Pella Rd, Kilrush on February 11th last year.

Mr Montaine (39) was not required to appear concerning the possession charge under the Misuse of Drugs Act and solicitor, Patrick Moylan appeared on the man’s behalf before Judge Mary Larkin.

Addressing the court, Mr Moylan said that there was disclosure of evidence concerning the case still outstanding from the gardaí and requested an adjournment.

Speaking after the case first came before the court last November, Deputy Wynne confirmed that Mr Montaine would be contesting the drug summons before the court.

Mr Montaine has epilepsy and speaking generally on her partner’s use of medicinal cannabis to deal with his epilepsy, Deputy Wynne said that come March “John will be six years seizure free and that comes from him taking medicinal cannabis”.

During the phone interview, Deputy Wynne said there are positive effects for Mr Montaine in using medicinal cannabis and it has improved his quality of life “100pc – without a doubt”.

The couple are currently expecting their sixth child together and the TCD psychology graduate said: “Before we were having to go see the GP in between seeing the neurologist. There was always some kind of issue – say John having a number of fits within the one month or losing teeth or suffering with severe migraine, but since John has been using the medicinal cannabis, he has had a better quality of life.”

She added: “It has also freed myself up. John would have been on disability allowance and I would have had to have been his carer but since using the medicinal cannabis, he doesn’t suffer from any of those issues any longer.”

Deputy Wynne said that Mr Montaine “is only left with a handful of teeth at this stage” from his past seizures.

She stated: “It is a huge issue for John personally. That is something that has really affected his confidence. It has brought difficulties and issues for him and that is hard to watch for someone that you love.”

Deputy Wynne said that a prior medication that was Mr Montaine was on reduced his calcium levels and bone density and that weakened his teeth.

She said: “When he would have a fit, the teeth would clash and break very, very easily and that brought about a lot of pain and trips to the dentist.”

Judge Larkin adjourned the case to March 15th to Kilrush District Court.