asked the Minister for Justice if he will clarify paragraph 2 of the reply to Parliamentary Question No. 565 of Tuesday, 29 January 1985, which states that when cars are taken without the owners consent in most cases this not stealing in the legal sense.
Written Answers. - Taking of Cars.
642.
, Limerick East): In order to sustain a charge of stealing under section 2 of the Larceny Act, 1916, it must be proved that the accused intended at the time of taking the property to deprive permanently the owner thereof. Where a vehicle has been taken without the owner's consent and later abandoned or a person is found in possession of the vehicle within a short time of its taking it is not normally possible to prove an intention to deprive permanently the owner thereof. In such circumstances a charge of taking the vehicle without the owners consent is preferred under section 112 of the Road Traffic Act, 1961 (as amended).