asked the Minister for Justice if his attention has been drawn to the anomaly in the powers of detention of the Garda in relation to the Malicious Damage Act, 1861, which is in contravention of the spirit of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, and the powers of arrest contained therein; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Powers of Detention.
26.
I assume that what the Deputy has in mind is that offences under the Malicious Damage Act, 1861, should be removed from the list of offences which have been scheduled for the purposes of the Offences Against the State Act, 1939. In that regard I would refer him to the reply I gave to a question by Deputy Wyse on 15 November 1988 (Official Report, Vol. 384, Col. 266).