I regret that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy O'Donoghue, or his Minister of State, cannot be in the House. I do not wish to question the Minister of State, Deputy Kitt's ability, but it would have been preferable if someone from the relevant Department could have been present to give the reply.
I condemn the robbery of paintings from Russborough House outside Blessington. This was not a normal robbery, but an attack on the citizens of the State. There has been a recent trend involving the theft of art works or cultural artefacts which are taken out of the country. This is the third time this location has been targeted and it appears that we do not learn from mistakes. I question whether a certain criminal element believes it is immune from prosecution and that it can do what it likes.
The greater Blessington area and large parts of north Wicklow have been subject to a spill-over of crime from the greater Dublin area. This particular robbery was a professional job. However, for many years I have been pressing the Minister for additional gardaí for Bray and Naas, which service west Wicklow.
We have two options open to us. First, we can increase security at Russborough House and the general area. This kind of robbery is not unique to Russborough House as it could happen in the National Museum or National Library. People do not like strict security regimes as they take from the pleasure of viewing art. However, we can increase the deterrents. The Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Bill has reached Committee Stage and the Minister should consider introducing a section to that legislation dealing with the theft of art or artworks. If he does not introduce such an amendment, Fine Gael will do so. I hope the Minister will support that amendment. The time has now come to introduce a strong deterrent to deal with such acts. Some of the paintings from one of the previous robberies were never recovered and, although I hope we will recover both of these stolen items, it is quite possible that they will never be found.
We must signal our intent in this matter, however, by creating a new section in the Larceny Bill to deal specifically with the theft of works of art and other historical artefacts. I look forward to the Minister bringing forward some innovative proposals on Committee Stage of that Bill.
What is the current state of the investigation process? What steps is the Minister's Department taking to try to recover these paintings?