Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 4 Nov 1997

Vol. 482 No. 3

Written Answers. - Censorship of Publications Act.

Liam Burke

Question:

316 Mr. L. Burke asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of transgressions of the Censorship of Publications Act, 1929 that have been reported to the authorities which arose from the reporting of explicit evidence in sex related cases before the courts; the penalties that have been imposed in this regard; the number of charges, if any, in the past two years that have been preferred against the media following the publication of photographs that offend public decency; and if he will make a statement on the recent trends apparent in the media in their coverage of sex related court cases, the extent of this coverage and its explicit nature. [17983/97]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue)

I am informed by the Garda authorities that the information requested by the Deputy in relation to certain transgressions under the Censorship of Publications Act, 1929 is not readily available from Garda statistics and could only be obtained by the expenditure of a disproportionate amount of staff time and resources.

With regard to the reporting of sex-related court cases, the Discussion Paper on Sexual Offences currently being prepared by my Department will provide an appropriate backdrop to consideration of the need for any changes in the law that may be required on this issue.