asked the Minister for Justice the number of convictions in the courts between March 1982 and March 1984 for the possession of heroin; the amount of heroin involved in each case; the sentence given in each case; and the name of the presiding judge.
Written Answers. - Heroin Convictions.
587.
Limerick East): The statistics sought are not available in my Department or in Garda Headquarters. It would have to be specially compiled from records at local level and I do not consider that I would be justified in asking the Garda and Court officials to undertake the task which could only be carried out at the expense of other duties.
A considerable amount of statistical and other information on drugs offences appears in the Annual Crime Report of the commissioner. In the Report for 1982, a copy of which is in the Oireachtas Library, the information appears at head 23 on page 25 and in the section headed "Misuse of Drugs" beginning on page 29 and continuing through pages 30, 31 and 32.