James Breen (Clare, Independent)

The Bill proposed by Deputy Jim O'Keeffe does immediate good in that it forces the House to debate an issue of genuine concern throughout the country.

Every home owner should be allowed to defend his or her property from any intruder into the dwelling, which is what the Bill proposes, as long as it is done with reasonable force. In the past, I regret to say, the home owner was supposed to retreat, but who in today's world could do that, when the Garda is so under-resourced that any attempt to raise the alarm would meet with great delay, by which time the danger posed by the intruder would be even greater? Anyone should be allowed to defend his or her house from an intruder with reasonable force. That message should issue from this House loud and clear.

I do not accept the Minister's contention that this Bill is merely a headline-grabbing stunt. If that is so, it was equally the case when Senator Morrissey of the Progressive Democrats published his Bill early in June. Of course, the law should take into account the circumstances when such an intrusion occurred, whether children, elderly relatives or other family members were present and whether there was risk of injury or harm to them. In rural areas the Garda will not have an immediate effect on such incidents. I am concerned that the Bill does not go far enough in covering situations with plain-clothes gardaí. In such cases, the home owner has a get-out clause whereby he or she could assault a member of the force, pleading ignorance of the circumstances in the belief that the garda was an intruder.

Greater thought should be given to the definition of an intruder and reasonable force to prevent this Bill being used by a home owner as a recourse when he or she has become involved in a row with a visitor, afterwards stating that the person had not been invited and that his or her identity had not been known. High profile cases here and in the UK have fuelled debate on such matters in recent times.

I urge the Minister to act on citizens' genuine concerns and introduce legislation as soon as possible to protect home owners. I hope that he will withdraw his amendment and accept the Bill.

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