Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister to the House and would like to confirm that Fianna Fáil will be supporting the concept of this Bill. There has been much discussion and research into this Bill over many years. The previous Minister introduced legislation along these lines, while Fine Gael brought in a Private Members' Bill to the Dáil a few years ago along the same lines as what is before us today.

Historically, we can think of the Tony Martin case in England, when a burglar was shot dead. That received huge publicity nationally and internationally, and our legal system is closer to that of the UK than any other legal jurisdiction in the world, along with Commonwealth countries like Australia and Canada. We are also reminded of the Nally case in the west of Ireland, where a farmer shot an intruder who was apparently known to him and who was violent to him in the past. The Court of Criminal Appeal released that man. There has been much jurisprudence on this and presumably following the uproar in 2006, the Law Reform Commission prepared a consultation paper on the issue. In fairness, the Minister and his officials have incorporated the principles outlined in that paper.

The right of a person to defend his home and his property has evolved and developed over the last decade or so, primarily because these two cases acted as a catalyst for discussion on the issue. The Minister has outlined that our Constitution enshrines the protection of life, but it also enshrines the principle to protect one's property. There is no point in saying otherwise, but in most cases where aggravated burglary occurs, these people do not come on the property by chance. My knowledge from the legal side of things is that some of these places are staked out weeks and months in advance by criminals who have nothing good in mind.

There was a doubt in law and in our court system that somebody who tried to defend his home may have to retreat. I am glad that the provision in this Bill has cleared that up. Respecting the use of reasonable force, the Bill acknowledges that one's home is one's castle. Those rights are also enshrined in our Constitution. The notion of legitimate defence and the general rule that a person should retreat where possible is covered in the Bill.

Most people in civil society would welcome the direction of this Bill. It also sends a signal to the courts and to criminals that people can defend their properties from undue attack. There are very few instances where somebody stumbles on a property by mistake and is met with a shotgun or a bar by somebody trying to defend his home. As I have already clearly stated, the Garda authorities know that some of these people are career criminals.

Some of them can be very vicious. Some rob to feed their drug habits.

The Bill, along with the 2007 Act, acts as a buttress to support the thrust of what the Government is trying to do. One cannot argue it is rushed because a lot of thought has gone into it. I mentioned the Law Reform Commission. There have been a number of cases. The Minister mentioned the case of Barnes in this country. There is also the well highlighted Nally case and the case involving Tony Martin in England, a neighbouring jurisdiction. Some of these cases are seven or eight years old.

In welcoming the Bill I will not add a lot more to what I have said. It is appropriate for the age in which we live. It has been well researched. Some of our householders are in a lot of difficulty for financial reasons and they cannot protect their homes and families. The Bill clearly outlines what curtilage is. It could be somebody breaking into an outside garage or trying to steal a van from a backyard. A person's home could be a caravan, mobile home or boat. Coming from a seaside area I do not know many people who live on boats, but on occasion somebody I know used a boat for many years as his home. He is entitled to protect that.

The Minister has the full support of this side of the House. The Bill should be welcomed and I am glad to be here to lend my cúpla focail in support of this important Bill.