I thank the Minister of State for his response, but there is a problem with the questioning system, which affects the Ceann Comhairle's office. I put down a couple of questions, one of which was a priority question to ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of orders made under sections 3 and 4 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 2003. I also asked a question about how many prosecutions had been secured under the Intoxicating Liquor Act 2003. These questions have not been allowed for different reasons and the figures are not available. One was disallowed by the Ceann Comhairle's office.
Last week the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform issued a statement with regard to the Garda crime statistics. It said the reductions in violence and public order offences follow the enactment during 2003 of the public order Bill and the intoxicating liquor Bill, which gives significant additional powers to the Garda to deal with public order and street crime.
Somebody is misleading somebody else. A Department and a Minister make a statement with regard to two pieces of legislation but say they do not have the figures to back that up and will not provide a Deputy in this House with the figures. There is a massive fundamental contradiction here. This exposes entirely the sham procedure in this House. It has turned into an exercise in concealment, more than anything. Somebody will have to answer the question as to how a statement like that could be made a week ago, while at the same time questions that I have asked on the same pieces of legislation have been disallowed. It is extraordinary. The Ceann Comhairle, on a point of order, will have to answer that question.
At the same time last week the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, said that the spiral in crime had been curtailed. This is the same man who asked an expert group to look into the rate of unreported crime. The group has not reported to him, so how in God's name could it be said that the spiral of crime in this country has been curtailed? There is something fundamentally wrong with this process.