Vol. 260 No. 6
asked the Minister for Justice (a) the number of times, if any, on which an all-military special court under the Offences Against the State Act tried a person on capital charges; (b) the number of convictions secured; and (c) the number of persons executed.
36.
asked the Minister for Justice the number of occasions on which a conviction on a capital charge was secured before a special court established under the Offences Against the State Act and in which an appeal was made to the appropriate authority and such appeal was upheld.
37.
asked the Minister for Justice (a) the number of occasions on which internment of persons under the Offences Against the State Act has been invoked; (b) the greatest number of persons at any time interned under the Act; (c) the number of persons who appealed against internment; (d) the number of those who, on appeal, were released because of the appeal; and (e) the longest period during which a person was interned under the Act.
38.
asked the Minister for Justice (a) the number of occasions on which special courts under the Offences Against the State Act were set up; (b) the number of occasions, if any, on which the courts were formed of all-military personnel; and (c) whether a special knowledge or legal training was a precondition of membership by a member of the Army of a special court under the Act.
With your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to take Questions Nos. 35 to 38 together.
The only available statistics are those given by me in replies to Parliamentary questions on 4th November, 1971, and on 10th December, 1970. The compilation of the other statistics sought would involve detailed research in files and other records. I would not be justified in devoting valuable staff time to the very substantial amount of work that would be required in what at this stage could only be classed as historical research.
Will the information to which the Minister referred give me the figures I asked for in relation to the number of people interned.
It will give quite a number of them, but not some of the more obscure information asked for.
Would the Minister consider the number of executions as obscure information?
I have described the sort of information sought as "historical research". That is a valid enough description.
I did not ask these questions for a frivolous reason but for very serious reasons. Could the Minister say whether the information concerning the military courts which were set up will be available, as well as the number of persons executed and the number of internees? Are these figures available in the information to which he has referred?
Some of the information is there, but not all of it. To obtain it all would involve an enormous amount of time on the part of the staff of my Department, which we cannot afford.
Is the Minister suggesting that the number of military courts set up and the number of executions carried out are so enormous that he cannot lay his hands on the facts readily?
I am not suggesting that. I am suggesting that the total amount of information sought in these four questions is so vast that I cannot afford the time in my Department to try to ascertain it all. As much information as we have readily available is being made available to the Deputy.
Is it not the Minister's function to make this kind of information available? This whole question of internees is very relevant just now. Surely this is the kind of information that should be made available to Deputies. Each of these questions contains not more than four simple queries. Why should the Minister make an exception in this case?
A great deal of the information is more than 30 years old. I am not prepared to have a large number of staff in my Department trying to find it all.
Is it a fact that the information available is so disturbing and its effect so disreputable to the reputation of the Government that he does not choose to make it available?
I referred the Deputy to where this information is in replies which I already gave in the House.
