James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, who cannot be here today, I thank Senator Crowe for raising this very important matter around the sentencing for those found guilty of attacks on emergency service workers. I echo the Minister's and the Deputy's unequivocal condemnation of the attack on two members of An Gardaí Síochána in Ballyfermot on Monday of this week. Attacks like these on our valued emergency service workers are simply unacceptable and are not only deeply traumatic for the Garda members concerned but also cause serious damage to the communities which our emergency services work to protect. I convey my best wishes to both gardaí who were injured and to their colleagues and family members. I wish them both a speedy and full recovery. I am aware a number of individuals were arrested in relation to this serious incident and that two individuals have been charged. The Senator will appreciate it is not appropriate for me, as a Minister of State at the Department of Justice, to comment on a Garda investigation that is under way into the particular incident. I reiterate the Garda public appeal for any information about this incident. Anyone who has witnessed the incident or possesses video footage of the incident should contact the Ballyfermot Garda Station at 01 6667200, the Garda confidential line at 1800 666111, or any Garda station.

It is vital that emergency service workers are sufficiently protected in carrying out their work and that the law reflects and responds to the situations in which they find themselves. I assure the Senator a range of robust legislative provisions are available to the Garda authorities in circumstances where threats or assaults are made against gardaí. Such offences carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison under section 19 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994. I note that this penalty was increased from a maximum of five years in prison in 2006. The 1994 Act also provides for an offence of violent disorder which may be committed depending on the circumstances and carries a maximum penalty under the 1994 Act of ten years in prison.

Persons committing such offences may also be liable to prosecution for assault causing harm or causing serious harm under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997. The maximum penalty for assault causing harm is a sentence of five years in prison. The maximum penalty for causing serious harm is up to life imprisonment. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, has included a provision in the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 to double the maximum sentence for assault causing harm from five years to ten years. The Minister welcomes the recent approval of this proposal on the Committee Stage debate on the Bill. These provisions are subject to ongoing review and the Government will not hesitate in taking further appropriate actions to protect gardaí and other emergency service workers.

The Senator will be aware that the Department of Justice recently published the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022 which will provide for the first time a legal basis for the deployment and use of body-worn cameras by members of An Garda Síochána. Body-worn cameras will support front-line capability by accurately recording incidents, like the serious incident that occurred this week at Ballyfermot. The ultimate deployment of these devices, including related timelines, will be an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner, however, I am advised that the Commissioner intends to pilot the use of body worn cameras, prior to nationwide roll-out.