Mary Coughlan
Ceist:50 Miss Coughlan asked the Minister for Justice the number of attacks with syringes or needles on people in each of the years from 1994 to 1996. [5415/97]
Written Answers. - Syringe Attacks.
I am informed by the Garda authorities that the information requested by the Deputy is as follows:
|
Year |
No. of indictable offences in which a syringe or needle was used |
|
1994 |
353 |
|
1995 |
514 |
Final figures for 1996 are not yet available but the provisional figure is 1,252.
On 26 February I published a Bill to amend the criminal law dealing with non-fatal offences against the person and criminal conduct involving syringes known as Non-Fatal Offences against the Person Bill, 1997.
The Bill has been in preparation for some time and will repeal the greater part of the Offences against the Person Act, 1861, and restate in modern statutory form the law relating to the main non-fatal offences against the person. In the preparation of the Bill account was taken of the recommendation contained in the Law Reform Commission Report on Non-Fatal Offences against the Person published in 1994.
The Bill will restate the law relating to various forms of assault, threats to kill or cause serious harm, coercion, poisoning, false imprisonment and abduction of children and will provide for increased penalties.
In line with the commitment given by me during 1996 the Bill will deal with syringe offences. It will provide a range of new offences to combat criminal conduct involving syringes, including offences of possession of a syringe or container of blood with intent to threaten or injure, placing or abandoning a syringe in any place in a manner which injures or is likely to injure any person, injuring a person with a syringe or threatening to do so, and throwing or putting blood on another person or threatening to do so. The penalties provided will range for five years to life imprisonment.