Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

I support Senator O'Toole's call for a press council. There has been wall to wall coverage of the sad event which took place outside Club Anabel. Recently, Fine Gael commissioned a poll undertaken by independent consultants and it found that 25% of people, one in four, were not reporting specific crimes. It also found that up to 40% of those under 25 were not doing so. I am aware of a case in my town recently where people turned on a young person and his girlfriend, attacking the young man in particular. They kicked and punched him. He did not report the assault or follow it through because of fear, which often permeates small communities in such situations. There is fear of revenge by the people who perpetrated the assault. These people are often known to the Garda, but it is helpless unless people are prepared to testify. It is a sad indictment of Ireland today that while many of us when growing up often saw fist fights, we never saw people being kicked or pulverised on the ground. It is a shocking commentary on Ireland at this time.