asked the Minister for Justice if the Government will introduce the legislation needed to abolish capital punishment.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Capital Punishment.
23.
The Criminal Justice Act, 1964, restricts the death penalty to the offence of treason, to certain military offences and to the offence of capital murder, namely, murder of a member of the Garda Síochána or of a prison officer acting in the course of duty, murder done in the course or furtherance of certain offences under the Offences Against the State Act, 1939, or in the course or furtherance of the activities of an unlawful organisation and murder in the State for a political motive of a foreign head of State or of a member of a foreign Government or of a foreign diplomat.
I have no proposals to put before the Government to change the present law in this matter.
On this occasion the Minister is a member of the party which made the advance he referred to in 1965. Would he not agree that the arguments put forward then in favour of abolishing capital punishment, to the extent that it was abolished, are operative now, that it is a barbarous practice to take somebody's life and that it has not been a deterrent? It has not changed appreciably. The murder rate has not gone up since then. We were right to get rid of it in 1965. Would the Minister not agree that the case is compelling for extending it to the total abolition of capital punishment?
I do not agree with the Deputy that this is the proper time to make any further advances or changes of this nature.
It is not a fact that relatively recently, and without in any way underestimating the terrible nature of the crime they committed, there was a man and woman whom we might have had to hang? Would we not have felt that was something we would not wish to do even in the circumstances of their terrible crime?
That is not involved in this particular question.
It might be the Minister's responsibility.
I accept that fully and I wish the occasion will never arise during my time as Minister for Justice.
Would the Minister consider framing a Bill to do what Deputy Browne suggests and leaving it to a free vote of Members of the House? I ask that question as an individual Deputy who feels very strongly, as Deputy Browne feels, on this particular issue.
I cannot talk as an individual on this side of the House. I am talking as Minister for Justice and my answer to Deputy Kelly and Deputy Browne is that I have no proposals to put before the Government for a change.
I ask the Minister to consider—I hope he will not find himself in this situation—that he might find himself in a situation such as Deputy Browne has suggested; and if he did he might find himself with a large number of Deputies behind him whose consciences would not allow them to go along with what he would be forced to do.
That is a statement taking up the time of the House. The question asked the Minister if he will introduce legislation and it has been answered. We are now digressing considerably.
Can I take it that the Government will be giving a negative reply to the attempts which will be made this year by Amnesty to have capital punishment abolished throughout the world and that the Government will not be responding to that request?
That is a separate question.
That is an entirely separate question. Question No. 24.
Will Amnesty not be able to draw their own conclusions in that respect?
I have called Question No. 24.