David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am a little disturbed by the Minister's reply. I listened very carefully to what Senator McDowell stated and, as I understand it, he instanced a situation in which a member of the Garda Síochána gave information to the newspapers about people who had back-street abortions, which were then completely illegal and a cause of great shock and condemnation among the majority of the population. When the information was published, people were left in considerable distress. As I understand it, the point Senator McDowell made in that regard is that because this was a summary, not an indictable, offence, the Garda was frustrated in its investigation and no charge was laid. That seems to be an extremely serious situation and one which the Minister has not satisfactorily addressed. We have an historical case in which the rights and well-being of Irish citizens were seriously affected by disclosure but because that was not an indictable offence the Garda-----I am sorry, I beg your pardon-----