‘SHAMEFUL’ CARER’S €5KTHEFT

■ Trusted support worker used debit cards of residents with Down Syndrome to steal cash ■ Thief posts message on social media about ‘unvetted’ men coming to her Wexford village

A CARER who stole almost €5,000 from residents with Down Syndrome in a nursing home previously campaigned against asylum seekers arriving in her village because ‘she wanted to keep her community safe’.

Jill Bergin — whose 31 thefts from her three victims was described as shameful by their families — posted a message on Facebook in mid-February saying: “We pride ourselves on our village and want to keep it a safe place for the future of our children and grandchildren to live in.

“Ferns says no to unvetted males coming into our village.’

When we attempted to quiz Bergin on Wednesday as to whether she considered thieving from residents with special needs was in line with her mission of keeping the community ‘safe’, she turned and shut the door on our reporter.

Thirty-nine-year-old Bergin pleaded guilty before Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court to three sample counts of theft from three residents at Ros Mhuire centre in

Rathdrum, Co Wicklow on dates between June 2019 and March 2020.

Detective Garda Neil Doyle said the three victims in the case were all vulnerable males with intellectual disabilities, including two with Down Syndrome.

ACCOUNTS

Detective Garda Doyle said Bergin had stolen the money by using the men’s debit cards to withdraw money from ATMs as well as failing to deposit money to their accounts.

The court heard she stole €1,380 from one victim, €1,240 from another and €2,370 from a 65-yearold resident of the centre, which is operated by Sunbeam House Services.

Det Garda Doyle said it appeared that Bergin would withdraw money as requested by the men but then immediately withdraw the same amount again a short time later.

He said gardai became aware of the crime after the manager of Ros Mhuire had checked on bank statements of its residents when a sum of money had gone missing.

Bergin was arrested in May 2021 but would not accept responsibility for the money that had been withdrawn or the lodgements that never materialised.

“There was no acceptance of any wrongdoing,” said Det Garda

Doyle. He said a total of 31 incidents of Bergin either making withdrawals or not making deposits had been identified.

TRUSTED

In a victim impact statement made on behalf of one of the men, his family said they were disgusted that a vulnerable person would be treated in such a way by someone they trusted.

They described Bergin’s conduct as “vile behaviour” and it was shameful that her actions had marred the great work of other people in Ros Mhuire where their relative had flourished.

They also expressed hope that