Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Griffin for tabling this question. Like the Deputy, I consider the deliberate ramming of Garda vehicles to be a very serious matter and can assure him that the safety of gardaí and the general public is of paramount importance. I can also assure the Deputy that all incidents of this nature are subject to full investigation by An Garda Síochána.

It is a matter of great concern that individuals deliberately ram Garda vehicles, whether in the course of evading arrest or for other criminal purposes. All appropriate operational and safety precautions are of course taken, but where an individual is intent on causing such a collision, prevention will inherently be difficult. Where these incidents do occur, it is important that such persons are brought before the courts.

I have previously outlined for the Deputy the range of robust road safety and other legislative enforcement provisions available to the Garda authorities in such circumstances. These include the assault offences contained in the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 and for which penalties range from up to five years imprisonment to life imprisonment, depending on the seriousness of the offence involved. In addition, section 19 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994provides for specific offences relating to assaults on peace officers which includes members of An Garda Síochána. The penalty for this offence was increased from five years to seven years imprisonment by the Criminal Justice Act 2006. Section 2 of the Criminal Damage Act 1991, provides for the offence of damage to the property of another person for which the penalty is a maximum of ten years imprisonment. Provision is made for very serious sentences for those kind of offences which can be used in the situation as outlined by the Deputy. A sentence of up to ten years imprisonment can be given for a person involved in the ramming of a Garda car. If such ramming were to cause death, an offence of attempted murder, murder or manslaughter, may be considered applicable with the resultant penalties including mandatory life imprisonment for a conviction for murder. Legislative sanctions are in place to deal with those involved in this dreadful activity which often has very serious consequences for gardaí.

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