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Thomas McInerney (39), Twomey Park, Mountmellick; William McInerney (35), Newline Close, Mountrath; and Gerard McInerney (38), Woodbrook, Mountrath appeared before Judge Conal Gibbons in Cloverhill District Court on Wednesday 31 August.
The three men are charged with possession of stolen farm property and articles and the unauthorised taking of a vehicle from a farm in Co Laois on the night of 23 to 24 June.
Thomas, William and Gerard McInerney have been in custody since 13 July, for the majority of the time at Cloverhill prison, and today their respective counsels objected to giving the Director of Public Prosecutions further time to consider the case, thereby keeping the McInerneys in custody.
Seoirse Ó Dúnlaing, counsel for William McInerney, asked the judge if further time was merited considering that his client has already been in custody for seven weeks after bail was refused him in both the District Court and the High Court.
"Is it reasonable to remand him in custody for further time just because a decision has not yet been made by the DPP as to what form the prosecution will take?" he asked the court. "My client has a right to know."
Similar arguments were put forward by counsel for Thomas McInerney and Gerard McInerney respectively.
"Major and complex investigation"
Garda Sergeant Brendan Stynes told Judge Gibbons that the DPP has requested more time as "this is a major and complex investigation". He also said it is likely that "further charges against the McInerneys will be made along the line".
The judge acknowledged that "the time the defendants have been in custody is important" but he added that "the DPP is independent of the court" and that he cannot influence the time needed by her to make directions as how the prosecution will proceed.
The judge therefore remanded the McInerneys in custody for a further two weeks to give more time to the DPP to consider the case. The three men will therefore appear again in Cloverhill court on 14 September.
Arrests
William, Thomas and Gerard McInerney were arrested on the night of 12 July, after Gardaí stopped the men in the jeep at a road checkpoint at Cloncourse, Portlaoise.
According to Gardaí, the three men rammed the garda patrol car and then collided with another garda vehicle. Four gardaí received non-life-threatening injuries during the incident. The three men fled the scene but were later arrested.
Vehicles, trailers and other farm equipment have been recovered during ongoing searches in connection with this gang operation. Gardaí say it has been targeting farms in the midlands and was particularly active over the past six months.
A fourth man, AI technician Garret Kirwan, has also been arrested and charged as part of this investigation and is due to appear in Portlaoise District Court in September.
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