Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)
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I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Act 1997 and to provide for related matters.

The Bill proposes to increase the maximum sentence for an assault causing harm from five years to ten. The objective is to provide protection for the person equal to that provided for property. Under the Criminal Damage Act 1991, damage to property renders the offender liable to a term of imprisonment of up to ten years. If it were to happen, a person who breaks a glass on the head of a victim in a pub would be liable to a term of imprisonment of up to ten years for damage to the glass but only to five years for injuring the victim. This anomaly should not be permitted to continue and the Bill has been designed to remove it.