asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons committed to Limerick Prison on conviction of offences under section 30 of the Road Traffic Act, 1933 in each of the years 1958, 1959 and 1960 to date.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Traffic Offences: Committals to Prison.
20.
Major de Valera
The figures are as follows: 1958, 1; 1959, 1; 1st January, 1960, to 31st October, 1960, 4.
When will we have the Road Transport Bill?
21.
Major de Valera
asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons committed to Mountjoy Prison on conviction of offences under Section 30 of the Road Traffic Act, 1933, in each of the years 1958, 1959 and 1960 to date.
The figures are as follows: 1958, 12; 1959, 11; 1st January, 1960, to 31st October, 1960, 5.
22.
Major de Valera
asked the Minister for Justice the number of persons committed to Portlaoise Prison on conviction of offences under Section 30 of the Road Traffic Act, 1933 in each of the years 1958, 1959 and 1960 to date.
Portlaoise prison is a prison in which long term prisoners serve their sentences. It is not a local prison and, consequently, prisoners cannot be committed direct to it from the courts. All prisoners in Portlaoise must first have been committed to Mountjoy or Limerick Prison and, on the records, are shown as committals to those prisons.
As a matter of interest none of the prisoners in Portlaoise is serving a sentence for the offence in question.
23.
Major de Valera
asked the Minister for Justice in respect of each of the years 1958, 1959 and 1960 to date the number of persons (a) convicted in the Dublin Metropolitan District of offences under Section 30 of the Road Traffic Act, 1933 and (b) sentenced to imprisonment in consequence of such conviction.
As I explained in reply to a Question last week, the crime statistics show the number of persons convicted during particular periods of the offence of driving or attempting to drive while drunk but they do not show how many of them were sentenced to imprisonment. As I also explained last week, the figures for the year ended 30th September, 1960, will not be available for some months yet. Consequently, of the figures asked for in the Question, the only ones I can supply are the following:—
|
Number convicted in the year ended 30th September, 1958 |
46 |
|
Number convicted in the year ended 30th September, 1959 |
62 |
Included in these figures are those cases in which the charge was proved but in which the court applied the Probation of Offenders Act without proceeding to a formal conviction.
Major de Valera
Would it be correct to relate the numbers committed to prison given in answer to the first two Questions to the total number convicted of a similar offence given in the reply to this Question? Would it be a fair inference to say that out of the number convicted as given in answer to Question No. 23, only the numbers mentioned in the replies to Questions 20 and 21 represent the numbers committed to prison for that offence?
Of course, there is a relationship but the Deputy will realise that factors enter into the situation which make the relationship not exact. For instance, there is a hangover from one year to another; persons sentenced in one year may not be committed in that year for one reason or another; in some cases the Probation of Offenders Act may be applied and, also, sentences might be remitted on appeal or might be wiped out in some other way; but there is definitely a relationship.
Major de Valera
Is it a fair inference that the number sentenced to imprisonment on conviction for this crime is small, relatively?
I think that is a very fair inference. I think it is true to say that the number committed to imprisonment is relatively small. In fact, when the Minister had the exact figures ascertained, he was quite surprised at the smallness of the number of persons convicted who were actually committed to prison.
When will you introduce the new Road Traffic Bill which we have been promised for the past two years?