Vol. 498 No. 4
373 Mrs. Owen asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of suspicious deaths since the beginning of 1998; the date and circumstances of each of these; if the Garda have made a decision as to whether they are seeking someone in connection with each of these deaths; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27400/98]
I have been informed by the Garda authorities that statistics are not gathered on the basis of "suspicious deaths" as such, since the concept does not correspond to a particular crime. Provisional statistics for murder and manslaughter are, however, available for 1998.
I am informed that 32 murders were recorded up to 10 December 1998. Twenty-seven of these are recorded as detected, and proceedings are recorded as having commenced in 19 of these offences.
I am also informed that six manslaughters were recorded in the same period. All are recorded as having been detected, and proceedings have commenced in respect of four of these offences.
The Garda authorities have also informed me that for operational reasons it is not possible to describe the circumstances of each case since some are sub judice and, in other cases, the description of such circumstances could compromise the effectiveness of investigations.
