David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

That would be very good. However, a law is not much use if there is no penalty attached to it.

I would be interested to hear what the Minister of State has to say but I am all in favour of it. It is private information. If people want to make it public, let them make it public. However, I do think people in the media who leak this kind of thing should be got at.

Something has just come to mind, if I may have the indulgence of the House. About 30 years ago, I was at an AIDS event in Christchurch Cathedral. I helped myself to a couple of gin and tonics and then I sailed off to North Great Georges Street, my principal domicile and main seat in the Republic of Ireland. I looked out to see if there was any place to park the car, and I parked it end-on, so I could come back and re-park it later. I went into the house, opened up a bottle of madeira and the Sunday newspapers, and looked out every so often to see what was happening in the street. Eventually, about 11 o'clock or so, a space developed so I went out. While I was there, I thought, "I have run out of cigarettes" - I beg Senator Crown's pardon, this was 30 years ago - so I said I would scoot around the block and see if there were any fags. Off I went, and at the bottom of the road there was a group of cheery police persons. They waved at me, and I waved back and said, "Hi lads", and I pulled up beautifully, parallel to the kerb outside my front door. To my astonishment, a big red face emerged and said, "Blow into the bag", and I was got; I was done.

It was perfectly legitimate, a fair cop and all the rest but, at Christmas, when the case was in the court, the judge failed to turn up - wonderful - so the press did not get hold of it at all. It was held after Christmas very privately and nobody heard a word until, six weeks later, I was walking down Grafton Street and there it was, right across the front page - "Senator on drunk driving charge".

I was only a Senator about three weeks and it was humiliating. A reporter asked me, "Did you not know you could say you were on Government business?". The incident occurred about 2 a.m. so I asked him what precisely I could say I was doing in my pyjamas at 2 a.m. However, a Minister of State who took eight hours to get as far as Rathmines used the excuse of Government business and Charlie Haughey belaboured him and told him he should have taken his lumps, like Senator Norris.