Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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483. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the number of successful convictions obtained under section 31(2) of the intoxicating Liquor Act 1988 in 2019, 2020 and to-date in 2021, in tabular form. [58525/21]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, under the provisions of the Courts Service Act 1998, management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions. This includes the compilation of information relating to convictions.

In addition, the decision about whether or not to prosecute a person is entirely a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions and I, as Minister, have no role in such matters.

I am informed by the Courts Service that there is no record of any prosecutions or convictions under Section 31(2) of the Intoxicating Liquor Act in the years in question.

The Deputy should note however, that the Courts Service can only provide data in instances where offence codes provided on the system were used by prosecutors. In relation to prosecutions under Section 31(2) of the Intoxicating Liquor Act, prosecutors may have used uncoded free text offences, which do not appear in searches for prosecutions by the Courts Service.