Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has partly pre-empted what I was going to say. There is a voluntary code in Britain, and perhaps it could be put on a statutory basis in Ireland, that products which contain either 10% or 12% materials such as sulphuric acid, sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid, ammonium hydroxide and suchlike should not be sold to people younger than 18 years.

Perhaps that should be considered in the context of statute law. As far as I am aware, there is no restriction on those under 18 being able to purchase such materials. Some of these products are household goods and will have to be available to people to buy. That said, do we need to consider who they should be sold to, whether they should be sold to minors, who typically do not need them to the same extent, and whether restrictions are required?

Obviously, an attack of this kind could be considered a serious assault occasioning grievous bodily harm or a similar category of offence. However, will the Minister consider whether an attack using household products that can be acidic and can cause serious damage could be considered assault with a weapon? Are these products considered offensive weapons under current legislation? If not, will the Minister consider the position in respect of them? I am of the view that they should be classed in this way.

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