Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)

I thank the Minister for his reply and I am glad to hear he is surprised by the settlement. I assure him I was surprised and I am sure everybody in the country was surprised by it. I note the Minister's comment with regard to the retrospective application of the law. It is unfortunate that the court case only took place in recent times, since the passage of the legislation into law, because in the people's minds it looks as if the legislation should apply. If other cases of a similar nature are pending, we must ask whether the relevant legislation is strong enough to deal with those cases. I am not sure it is. It should be clearly indicated to all and sundry that if a person enters another person's house with the intention of committing a felony, there should be no recourse to the law and no insurance payment nor compensation payment if that person falls and break his neck or if someone else injures him. That is the way it should be.

Much debate has revolved around the definition of "reasonable force". I can never understand how in the calmness of the courtroom it can be decided that perhaps a victim used excessive force in repelling a burglar or intruder. That decision is made in the calm of the courtroom, whereas the unfortunate householder who may have been woken up in the middle of the night had to respond in the heat of the moment and in the absence of calm. He or she may have been motivated by fear, which is the greatest motivator of all. We should be cognisant of that at this time. I emphasise that regardless of the legal niceties of a particular case or whether we like it, the message being given to the public is not the right one at any time, particularly at this time.

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