asked the Minister for Justice if he will state whether the persons who made an armed attack on a number of persons in Cliffoney, County Sligo, on the night of the 28th-29th April have since been identified and charged with the offence.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Armed Attack in County Sligo.
I propose to take questions Nos. 3, 5 to 8 inclusive and 10 to 12 inclusive together. I have nothing to add to the replies which I gave to questions upon these matters asked recently by the same Deputies.
Arising out of the Minister's answer to my first question, relating to the attack on members of the League of Youth in Waterford, will the Minister say what kind of investigations are going on with regard to this occurrence, which took place openly in front of the police six weeks ago?
The Guards are proceeding in the normal way, but no person, so far, has been identified.
Are we to take it from what the Minister said that a serious disturbance of that nature can take place in front of the police and that nobody has been charged in connection with the disturbance and no action taken to identify the guilty persons and to charge them as a result of such identification?
Every effort is being made to apprehend the guilty persons. The police proceed in the normal way with regard to this as to other similar occurrences. If the Deputy or his friends, or anybody else in possession of information with regard to this occurrence, will give it to the police, we shall be glad to get it.
How does it happen that in the case of a serious disturbance such as this, which took place in front of the police, six weeks have been allowed to elapse without any action being taken?
I have stated already that the police have taken every action possible.
Are we to understand that no action is going to be taken to charge the persons responsible for this occurrence, who must be well known to the police?
I stated, when this question was asked on a previous occasion, and again to-day, that the Guards are proceeding with inquiries in the usual way and are doing everything possible to be done to have those people identified and charged with the offences. No person has been identified so far. That is the position.
Surely the Minister does not want to argue that a disturbance of this kind, where large numbers of men attacked other men and also attacked a building, can take place openly, in front of the police, and that no action can be taken by the police either to arrest and charge the guilty persons with the offence on the occasion of its happening or to identify them for the purpose of charging them subsequently?
I do not say that it happened in front of the police.