asked the Minister for Justice if any prosecutions were brought in the last year against persons in the Dublin area for the importation and sale of pornographic matter.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Importation of Pornographic Material.
33.
There was no such prosecution.
May I ask the Minister if any seizures of such material were made? I know this is a separate question. May I draw the Minister's attention to a report in the Evening Herald on Tuesday evening last where it is stated that the parents of the Templeogue area feel that this matter is so serious they have started a campaign to clean this part of the city from this pornographic material?
I can only speak with regard to the Garda in so far as seizures are concerned. If seizures were made they would be made in the normal way by the Revenue Commissioners—by customs officials.
Could the Minister state if any seizure of pornographic material which was printed in Dublin has taken place within the past year? Does he know that such material is being printed by a Dublin firm?
I have already told Deputy Moore that my information would seem to indicate that the Garda did not make any seizures in the past year.
Would I be right in assuming that it is illegal to print such literature?
Yes. If the Deputy has evidence to show that any firm in Dublin is printing such literature, as he alleges, he should give that evidence to the Garda.
Is the Minister's Department responsible for sales of these things across the counter in shops, in places like Templeogue? Which Department is responsible? Would the Minister let me know that?
There is no Department responsible but, so far as preventing it is concerned, the Censorship of Publications Board would appear to me to be the place to which complaints should be addressed. They have the most effective powers in that they can ban this sort of material.