asked the Minister for Justice the number of prosecutions brought and convictions made against persons operating gaming machines in unlicensed premises or in premises not designed for such usage.
Written Answers. - Gaming Machine Offences.
394.
Limerick East): The Garda Síochána do not compile a statistical analysis of the different types of offences which may be committed under the Gaming and Lotteries Acts. The records maintained by the Garda are of the total numbers of prosecutions taken and, in 1984, the latest year for which figures are available, the total number of prosecutions brought was 168. A record of the outcome of prosecutions under the Acts is not readily available and this could only be compiled by the expenditure of a disproportionate amount of Garda time and resources. The Deputy will be aware that in any event the number of convictions obtained would have been affected over the last couple of years by the adjournment of cases pending the outcome of certain proceedings in the High Court and in the Supreme Court. These proceedings were disposed of on 19 November 1985.