Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)

I had an opportunity to address this matter when another Bill dealing with it was discussed in this House some years ago. At that time, most Deputies called on the Government to take action in this area. It is obvious that no action has been taken since then. It is reasonable to expect the House to address the matter on this occasion. The law as it stands is confusing. Those who are attacked in their homes can find themselves in precarious circumstances. It has happened to someone I know. Having listened to some of the speakers on the Government side of the House who have spoken about this issue - I do not refer to the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary - it is obvious that they have never come into contact with someone who has been attacked in his or her home. Although this serious matter affects a relatively small number of people, our law should address it to some extent. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has said that the Law Reform Commission will make some proposals this year and a Bill will be produced thereafter. While I hope that will happen, I remind the House that it has been promised before. When we discussed this matter in 2006, the then Minister said the same thing. I would bet anything that it will not happen this year, even if the Government is still in place. This serious issue can be addressed collectively by the House. People on both sides of the House have a good knowledge of the law. Some of them, like Deputy Creighton, have practised as barristers or as solicitors. The manner in which this fairly considered Bill has been rejected today is symptomatic of the way this House does its business. It was not accepted, as it could have been, because it was produced by the Opposition, which obviously cannot avail of the support of the Government's many parliamentary draftspeople and legal advisers. I understand that Deputy Flanagan received a telephone call from the Minister's office, or from his Department, to the effect that this Bill would be accepted. I do not know why there has been a change of mind in the meantime, but that is what has happened. This legislation has been rejected by the Government for political reasons. That is not a good way to do politics in this House.

The most recent figures for crimes of this nature do not say where the burglaries in question occurred. The figures for the second quarter of 2009 are alarming. During that timeframe, there were 2,305 burglaries and related offences in the Dublin region. By contrast, there were just 1,801 such offences during the same period in 2007. The number of burglaries in the Dublin region increased by almost 500 between 2007 and 2009. In the first quarter of 2007, there were no cases of aggravated burglary, which includes people breaking into houses, in the southern region. There were ten such crimes in that region in the second quarter of 2009. I am not being selective with the figures I am presenting to the House. The reality is that these crimes are happening more often. Repeat offenders know that the law is more or less on their side at this time. They know that people who come across intruders have a sense of a doubt about what they can do to defend their homes. They know that such people tend to think twice before they take action - they probably hide and hope these people go away. Now that the Government has rejected Fine Gael's very good proposal, I appeal to it to ensure that the Law Reform Commission's report is published and that a Bill is introduced in this House by the end of the year, as promised by the Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern.

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