asked the Minister for Justice if he is aware of the recent attacks on elderly persons living in isolated areas of County Donegal; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
426.
Written Answers. - Attacks on Elderly Persons.
425.
asked the Minister for Justice if he will take urgent action to halt the spate of attacks on elderly people in isolated areas and particularly in County Donegal.
Limerick East): I propose to take Questions Nos. 425 and 426 together. I am aware of the attacks which have been taking place on the homes of elderly people in County Donegal in recent months, one of which resulted in a man's death. Unfortunately, there have been somewhat similar attacks in some other areas as well — one of which has resulted in the death of a woman — and it would be unrealistic to respond to these questions by reference only to County Donegal.
The seriousness of those developments does not need to be underlined, nor does the fact that they affect the well-being of many more people than have been the object of attack.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that two Garda centres have been set up to deal specifically with the type of attacks referred to in these questions. A detective inspector from the Garda Technical Bureau is in charge at each centre assisted by a number of detectives from the bureau. One centre was set up in Sligo on 3 December to co-ordinate Garda activity in the north-west and the other centre was set up in Roscommon on 6 December.
Special Garda check points have been mounted in the north-western counties in an effort to pinpoint the movement of vehicles likely to have been used in the perpetration of attacks. The local Gardaí have instructions to pay particular attention to the homes of elderly people during the course of their patrols and to call to advise them on matters of security, in particular against the dangers of keeping large sums of money in their homes.
As Deputies will be aware, a person was convicted and sentenced some time ago in connection with the death in County Donegal and a person has been charged in connection with the very recent death in County Roscommon. In addition, detections have been made in relation to several other attacks in County Donegal.
The Garda have mounted a publicity campaign locally and have involved local community groups in an effort to make people more security conscious and to report the movements of suspicious persons and vehicles. The Garda report a good response to those efforts.
I would add that, in relation to all the affected areas, the general response of a number of organisations, including community groups, has been very positive and helpful and that, with such an approach from them as well as from the Garda Síochána, there is every reason for confidence that the problem will be met.