John Curran
Question:
245. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of child abductions recorded in each Garda division in each of the years from 2015 to 2018 and to date in 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17843/19]
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John Curran
Question:
246. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of attempted child abductions recorded in each Garda division in each of the years from 2015 to 2018 and to date in 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17844/19]
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John Curran
Question:
247. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of child kidnappings recorded in each Garda division in each of the years from 2015 to 2018 and to date in 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17845/19]
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John Curran
Question:
248. Deputy John Curran asked the Minister for Justice and Equality the number of attempted child kidnappings recorded in each Garda division in each of the years from 2015 to 2018 and to date 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17846/19]
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 245 248, inclusive, together.
I have sought a report from An Garda Síochána on the matters the Deputy has raised, and I will respond to him when this report is to hand.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A
I refer to Parliamentary Questions 245 to 248, inclusive, of 16 April 2019 in which the Deputy asked for the number of child kidnappings/abductions and attempted child kidnappings/abductions recorded in each Garda division in each of years 2015 to 2018 and to date 2019.
The Deputy will recall that I requested a report from An Garda Síochána into this matter, which is now to hand. The recorded incidents of child abduction by Garda Division are available at set out below.
The protection of children is a top priority for my Department, the justice agencies and the whole of Government. Legislation is in place to criminalise child abduction, and An Garda Síochána, in cooperation with social media companies and the public through the Child Rescue Ireland Alert (CRI Alert) system, work to ensure that any child that goes missing is found as quickly as possible.
Incidents of abduction of a child under 16 years of age are recorded on the Garda PULSE system and the relevant figures are set out in the table below. All information provided in this table is based upon operational data from the PULSE system as was available on 12th April 2019, and is liable to change. Crime counting rules,[1] as outlined on the CSO website, have not been applied. For distribution to the public domain, An Garda Síochána does not ordinarily report on details where less than 10 incidents have been recorded.
Child abduction is an offence under sections 16 and 17 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997, which provides for an offence of abduction of a child by a parent (section 16) or by other persons (section 17). A person found guilty of an offence under these sections is liable on summary conviction to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months, or both and on conviction on indictment to a fine or to a term of imprisonment not exceeding 7 years, or to both.
In addition, the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 makes it a criminal offence to fail to disclose to the Garda Síochána information concerning certain criminal offences which are committed against a child or vulnerable adult. The specified offences are listed in schedule 1 of the Act and include sections 16 and 17 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997.
The Central Authority for International Child Abduction, which is located in my Department, provides assistance to parents and guardians of children who have been removed to or from the jurisdiction without consent. The Central Authority is a transmitting and receiving agency for applications for the return of children to or from the jurisdiction under the 1980 Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003.
Divisions not included in the table have had no incidents recorded over the requested time period.
I trust that the above information addresses the Deputy's queries on this matter.
[1]
https://www.cso.ie/en/methods/surveybackgroundnotes/gardarecordedcrimestatistics/.
