Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has called for a change in the law to ensure a homeowner "defending their own home against an intruder should have the balance of the law on their side, not against them".
This would include a provision that in cases in which an intruder was injured there was a presumption that the homeowner had acted responsibly unless it could be proven otherwise.
Mr Kenny made his remarks yesterday in the wake of the imposition of a six-year sentence on Mayo farmer Pádraig Nally for the manslaughter of a man who had trespassed on his property. Mr Nally seriously injured the man when he confronted him at his home, and shot him dead after he left his land.
In a statement yesterday Mr Kenny did not say whether he believed the law had been unfair to Mr Nally.
He talked of a scenario in which a homeowner found someone in his home threatening his or her family's safety. He said that in circumstances where the homeowner ended up injuring the intruder, "the law - on a number of levels - is currently biased against the homeowner, and in favour of the criminal. Fine Gael thinks, and I think, that this must change."
He said the relevant legislation governing this area is the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act (1997). This Act leaves a homeowner potentially open to criticism (and possibly conviction) if a jury finds that he did not avail of an opportunity to retreat before using force.
"Secondly, the homeowner may have to show that a threat of force would not have sufficed as distinct from the use of force itself . . . And finally, the homeowner will have to show that the force he or she used was reasonable in the circumstances."
He said that when a homeowner is confronted with an intruder, possibly armed, in his or her own home, "it is not unreasonable to give the benefit of doubt and shift the balance of the law in favour of the homeowner".
The Constitution describes the dwelling of every citizen as "inviolable" and Article 8.1 of the European Convention on Human Rights says everyone has the right to respect for his or her home, he said. "Our laws should reflect this."
The State should give special protection to people in their home, he said.
"The legislation could grant the homeowner a presumption that he had no opportunity to retreat or indeed give any warning to an intruder prior to confronting that intruder. It could also make the presumption that unless otherwise proven, the homeowner acted responsibly."
He said Fine Gael would draft a Private Members' Bill and put it to the Dáil shortly.