It was disgraceful that a member of the Oireachtas was denied information by a Garda office on crime statistics, Mr John Connor (FG) complained in the Seanad last night. The acting Fine Gael Seanad leader said he had phoned the Garda Crime Statistics Office yesterday in an attempt to obtain data on the number of offences, such as syringe attacks, that had occurred since the start of the year. He had been refused the information and he wondered why. Were these crimes burgeoning again? It was disgraceful that a parliamentarian who sought such information in the public interest should be denied it, declared Mr Connor.
"I have the suspicion that I was denied it because the information would be embarrassing to the Minister and the Government." He called on the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue to provide the House with the statistics.
Mr Connor was contributing to the emergency debate on the Bill designed to ensure court challenges to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Persons Act do not prevent successful prosecutions for a range of offences.
The measure was passed by the Upper House after a two-hour debate.
Mr Denis O'Donovan (FF) said that instead of being castigated the Minister should be complimented for recognising the dangers that existed and for acting to ensure, beyond doubt, that no criminals would go unpunished.
Mr Feargal Quinn (Ind) said they had only themselves to blame for the shambles in which they found themselves. The original legislation which they were now having to revisit had gone through all stages in one day last May, he noted. He had often pointed out that quick legislation was bad legislation.
Introducing the Bill in the Seanad, Mr O'Donoghue said Section 28 of the 1997 Non-Fatal Offences Against The Person Act had abolished the common-law offences of assault, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, false imprisonment and kidnapping.
In place of these common-law offences the Act had created new statutory offences which were largely identical with the offences which had been repealed.
The Bill was later signed into law by the Presidential Commission.