Martin Mansergh (Fianna Fail)
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Attacks on churches of all denominations are a growing problem. Over the past week to ten days the media have reported attacks at Glasnevin cemetery, at Leamlara, Dungourney and Inch churches in east Cork, at Mellifont, County Kildare, and at Fethard, Moyglass, Lisronagh and Mullinahone in Tipperary. This is a frightening list. Churches are still places of great importance to which the vast majority of community members are attached. What matters when a chalice which predates Catholic emancipation is stolen is not its monetary value, it is the emotion and history attached to it.

I visited the church in Mellifont within the past 12 months at the request of the Minister for Finance and I was distressed to see that extensive damage had been done to a building with fine stained glass windows and unusual stonework. Restoration has had to be undertaken because a fire was started there maliciously. As Archbishop Dr. Dermot Clifford said recently, the fact that nothing is sacred anymore is a reflection of the times in which we live. One is reminded of Belshazzar's feast for which he had brought before him all the gold and silver vessels from the temple in Jerusalem. That parable gives us the phrase "the writing is on the wall" and the idea of people being weighed in the balances and found wanting. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that those who have undertaken the recent attacks will undergo the sort of visitation experienced by Belshazzar.

Attention must be drawn to these matters because it is distressing to parish priests, clergymen and communities to wake up to find their church smashed or burnt. Insurance will not compensate them for the Sisyphusian feeling of having to roll the stone up the hill another time. The Garda should be available to communities or should actively advise the clergy with regard to the improvement of the security of religious premises. I appreciate that budgets are tight, but I hope the State develops a policy of co-funding or supports for community funding where necessary and appropriate to furnish security cameras and other measures.

While punishment is always a last resort, penalties should reflect the fact something of special value to many people in the community is being attacked. It is time we and some of the journalists who are never slow to write anti-clerical tracts showed more sympathy for the churches in the midst of their problems. They continue to occupy a special place in most of our hearts and we should recognise this problem and provide assistance.

Síle de Valera (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for bringing this matter to the attention of the House. I am speaking on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, who wishes to thank the Senator for raising the matter on the Adjournment. He is pleased to respond, through me, on behalf of his Department.

It is an unfortunate fact that in today's society not only is the incidence of vandalism higher than it used to be, but its targets are also wider. With changing social mores, the restraints which would have protected some targets in the past have weakened. Regrettably, buildings such as churches, which would have been spared in the past, are now seen as no different from other targets. This affects churches of all denominations. Places of worship belonging to religions other than Christianity have also suffered in this way.

The most recent criminal statistics available are for 2001. In that year some 111 burglary offences and 114 offences of criminal damage were recorded where the location was a church. The detection rates were 33% for burglary offences and 30% for criminal damage offences.

Churches are vulnerable because they were seldom designed with security in mind and they are, by and large, unoccupied most of the time. In addition, many are located in rural or sparsely populated areas. Furthermore, the congregations of a growing number of churches are becoming smaller and the average age of their members is increasing. Another relevant factor is that because the congregations of many rural churches are relatively small, the numbers of people in a position to keep an eye on them are few.

In mentioning these factors, I do not wish to underplay the valuable role that many people fulfil in keeping an eye on churches which belong to a different denomination from theirs. When a church has been vandalised or robbed, it is not only that church's congregation which feels attacked – all the people of the affected area, regardless of their own religious affiliation, feel similarly injured.