Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

I share the Deputy's concern. It is important that we provide maximum protection to members of the force. Should a member of the force die or be seriously injured in the course of carrying out their duties there should be appropriate legal mechanisms to bring people before the courts and sentence them. On the issue of manslaughter, it is open to the courts to impose a life sentence. As the Deputy is aware, the courts must independently determine what is the appropriate sentence in an individual case, based on the background circumstances.

I await with interest the recommendations from the Law Reform Commission. I assume the final report will address issues relating to members of An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and other emergency personnel who suffer injury during the course of their duties in circumstances in which individuals are engaged in criminality, but I do not wish to prejudge its outcome. It is worth noting that at the recent Garda Representative Association, GRA, conference there was a call for the imposition of a five year sentence on those individuals who might injure a garda in the course of carrying out their duties. It appears the fact that the law already provides for the possibility of a seven year sentence to be imposed by the courts if a garda is injured in the course of their duty was missed by those who made that call. There is an already existing offence of assault on a member of An Garda Síochána which, in appropriate circumstances, can result in the courts imposing a seven year sentence.

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