Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I thank my colleague for sharing her time with me; I appreciate it. The reason I want to speak on this legislation is that my colleague, Deputy Flanagan and myself brought a Bill on this matter before the House but the Government was mean-minded in that it could have accepted it at that time and brought in the necessary amendments to it on Committee Stage. I hope that the Government will take on board the amendments Fine Gael will produce on Committee Stage to strengthen this Bill.

I take this opportunity to compliment the Law Reform Commission on its report. We are sometimes critical of such organisations but I must compliment it in this instance. It made strong recommendations in its report, on which I compliment it. It was brave and it had courage. I thought it would take the other view, that view of the do-gooder in this respect, and that it would have taken a different approach.

Previous speakers have said that a person's home is his or her castle. If an invader comes into one's home at midnight or 2 a.m., that person is not coming in for a cup of tea. That person is coming in to rob one, one's home, to hurt one or one's family and one has a right to use reasonable force in such circumstances. One should not have to wait to see whether in a few months' time one will get a solicitor's letter or be sued in the courts by the person who robbed one or beat one up in one's home. I hope this legislation will go far enough to deal with that. I listened to the contributions of my colleagues who have a legal background and while they are not quite happy with the legislation, I welcome it. It is important that we have clarity on this matter.

I come from a rural constituency. People in rural Ireland are living in fear of the threat to their lives and in fear of being robbed. Over the years gangs from other parts of the country have travelled to my area and beat up, robbed and hurt old people. Deaths have occurred as a result of intruders breaking into people's homes. People should have a right to defend themselves. I advise the Minister of State present and the Minister for Justice and Law Reform that a rapid response is also needed in such circumstances. In terms of providing for people living in a rural, isolated area, this legislation is being introduced while rural Garda stations are being closed. We must ensure, and elderly people living in rural Ireland must have confidence, that when an person dials 999 and ask for the Garda Síochána that the gardaí will arrive at that person's home in a very short time and that the gardaí will not have to travel from a town 25 miles away in that the person who made the call could be dead by the time the gardaí reach that person's isolated home. Criminals who assault, rob and beat up old people must be dealt with. We must send out a strong message that this cannot be tolerated in the courts.

My colleague, Deputy Creighton, was right when she said that an assault on the street is one thing but if somebody comes into one's home, that is a very serious offence and it should be dealt with in the courts. It is time we brought in further legislation to make that a more serious offence than it currently is because if somebody comes into one's home and assaults, robs or beats one up, that person should be put away for a long long time. The do-gooders will not be there at 3 o'clock in the morning when an elderly person is being beaten up in the home, however. In this country, the law serves the criminal only. If a criminal commits and is detained for an offence, the first action he takes is to get a consultant on taxpayers' money to see if he is okay in the head. He then gets free legal aid for his court case, again paid for by the taxpayer. If he appeals his sentence to the High Court and Supreme Court, again the taxpayer pays. It is time the criminals paid their way too. Those before the courts every day should be dealt with and put away for a long time instead of annoying and harassing decent citizens who want to feel safe and protected in their homes.

I am delighted this legislation has been introduced and hope its provisions will be strengthened on Committee Stage. The majority of our people never want to commit violence as they are law-abiding citizens. However, I want to send a warning to those criminals who attack people in their own homes, particularly in rural areas. Reasonable force must be, will be and should be used to stop them.

Tonight, some people in rural areas will go to bed praying they will wake up safely in the morning. That is a sad sign of our society. We cannot just be depending on voluntary organisations in this area. When an emergency call is put in, people, the elderly in particular, must be reassured there will be a rapid response from the Garda. There is nothing worse for someone than to be isolated, lonely and afraid in his or her home.

I recall the late Gerry Ryan challenging me on his show one morning that this legislation would never come before the Dáil. I promised him that I would introduce it. While the Government did not accept my proposed legislation, I am glad it has introduced a similar Bill. A person's home is his castle. No one else has a right to wrongfully enter it. If they do, reasonable force can be and should be used.

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