The Bill seeks to penalise further those who engage in vicious crimes against elderly persons in our community. Day after day our newspapers unfortunately contain at least one if not multiple stories of elderly persons being robbed and attacked in their own homes. It is a frightful situation and is of grave concern to everybody.

The purpose of the Bill is to send out a message that if a person is caught carrying out a violent act against a person who is aged 65 years or over that person will be severely punished. Elderly people often live in vulnerable and isolated circumstances and due to their age or infirmity do not have the strength or mobility to protect themselves. We know that they live alone. Many are in elderly communities in isolated rural areas and isolated urban settings. We need to protect our elderly people to allow them the opportunity to live their lives and enjoy their elder years.

The Bill will apply to assaults causing serious harm to elderly persons, a threat to kill or cause serious harm to an elderly person, and an injury to an elderly person caused by the piercing of the skin of that elderly person with a syringe. Where a person who is other than a child is convicted of an offence to which that action applies the court shall in passing a sentence specify a minimum period of imprisonment of not less than three years. It is also important to note that the latest crime statistics from the Central Statistics Office show an increase of 5.5% in the number of aggravated burglary offences from the second quarter of last year compared with 2013. There were over 25,000 burglaries during the same period of which 3,000 had assaults causing harm recorded also. Almost 10,000 of them were categorised as burglaries with assault. Crimes against older people are not specifically recorded but there is anecdotal evidence and we as public representatives hear of it and we see it reported in the newspapers. In an effort to ensure that elderly citizens and members of the public in our community are protected, this legislation will seek to put in place a deterrent to people who intend to or will carry out such assaults against elderly persons.

Question put and agreed to.