Tony Kett (Fianna Fail)

People have been murdered while asleep in their homes and children have been terrified, with traumatic psychological consequences. That emphasises the seriousness of the situation and is the reason we need to develop our legislation to protect those people. I compliment Senator Morrissey for doing that.

Almost 60 home owners will be burgled every day. Most of us know people who have experienced the trauma of having to deal with the burglary of their homes. Between 2004 and 2005, approximately €59 million was stolen from people's homes, which is something we need to deal with. When the influential Law Reform Commission deliberated on the issue, it also shifted the balance in favour of the citizen. It stated that someone defending his or her home should no longer be expected to retreat in the face of attack. The law-abiding members of the public, who find themselves in these terrifying situations through no fault of their own deserve whatever we legislators can provide to protect them in their time of need.

I know this is an emotional statement, but I find it difficult to consider giving any rights to an individual who breaks into a person's home, terrifies the person's family and expects the law of the land to allow him the same rights as the people he is terrifying. I know that the Minister must protect all citizens equally in law, but it is hard to take when we must legislate for individuals such as this.

Before I came to the House, a colleague of mine was talking to me about a relation of his whose business was robbed. He caught up with the guy who robbed it, who told him to do his best. He said that he may go to jail, but that he would be out in six months and he would deal with my colleague's relation. We do not want a battlefield scenario in which tit for tat actions occur. We must always be mindful of how we legislate in this respect.

I am concerned about old and vulnerable people in isolated areas. The stress and fear of hearing someone enter the home must be something to behold. The sense of isolation and fear must be unbelievable. These vulnerable individuals could easily die of a heart attack without the intruder ever laying a hand on them. If someone rushes to confront an intruder who then fell, hit his head and died, that person could be convicted of murder under the current legislation. That is outrageous.

There was a time when if I heard someone in my house, I would go downstairs to confront the individual with or without a weapon, but not anymore. Nowadays, we are dealing with a different type of intruder, one who is filled with drugs and who has long since forgotten the idea of fear. He could carry a knife or some other weapon and he might think nothing of hitting or killing the occupier. I would do what the Garda Síochána suggests we should do, which is take the family into one room and make as much noise and turn on as many lights as possible so that the intruder or intruders might be frightened. However, I am not sure if intruders on drugs would be frightened and take flight.

The underlying element to all this is the drugs problem. Without doubt, they are a major contributor to the number of robberies that take place. It is a debate for another forum, but it impacts on much of the legislation that comes through the House. I read in a newspaper last week that two out of five youngsters between the ages of 12 and 15 had experienced or dabbled in drugs of one kind or another. We see what we are up against.

The Garda Síochána has a major role to play in this. It is an important feature of good policing to have a garda in the community. The reserve force will play a major part in stepping into the breach. From my 16 years' experience on Dublin City Council, the community garda was a person with whom members of the community could always deal. He was the person people could go to with their problems. Community gardaí were very important for those areas in which they worked. The unfortunate thing is that they were never left long enough in the role. They either did not like their job or they got promoted and moved along as there was no real promotion within the community garda structure. The Minister mentioned that he was looking at the idea of giving status within the force to community garda. If community gardaí can be retained in a place where they can develop real relationships with communities and the organisations within them, we can kill off the potential for the existence of individuals that find their way into people's homes.

I compliment Senator Morrissey on bringing this Bill before the House. I support anything that endeavours to protect vulnerable people in society. If this is the way forward, I welcome that.