Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 June 2008
802 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the legislation currently governing street begging in a public place; the number of persons arrested and charged for same in Dublin City for the years 2005, 2006, 2007 and to date in 2008; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22876/08]
Amharc ar fhreagraProsecutions relating to street begging have generally been brought under section 3 of the Vagrancy (Ireland) Ireland Act 1847. However, the Deputy may be aware that in its judgement in March 2007 in the case of Niall Dillon -v- The DPP the High Court found that section to be unconstitutional. The reasoned judgement was delivered in December 2007. In its judgement, the High Court found that section 3 was unconstitutional on the basis that it was too vague and unspecific and that the constitutional right to free expression and communication was being unreasonably curtailed. Following receipt of legal advice, my predecessor decided not to appeal the judgement.
As a result of the Dillon judgment the law in relation to the circumstances in which prosecutions may be brought for street begging is not entirely clear. However, a number of statutory provisions continue to apply. For example, individuals who engage in begging in a public place in a manner likely to cause fear or annoyance or who obstruct the free passage of, or harass any person, or who fail to comply with the direction of a Garda are liable to prosecution under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 or the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 for obstruction, disorderly conduct, harassment etc.
I would also emphasise that the High Court's judgement in Dillon does not affect the operation of section 247 of the Children Act 2001, under which anyone who procures or has charge of a child for the purposes of begging is guilty of an offence. My Department is examining the High Court judgement with a view to bringing forward new legislative proposals in relation to begging that will set the law in a more current context.
In relation to the number of arrests and prosecutions in Dublin for begging in recent years, the Deputy may be aware that following the submission of a report and recommendations by an expert group on crime statistics, it was decided that the compilation and publication of crime statistics should be taken over by the Central Statistics Office, as the national statistical agency, from the Garda Síochána. The Garda Síochána Act 2005 consequently makes provision for this, and the CSO has established a dedicated unit for this purpose. The CSO has published crime statistics since the third quarter of 2006. In addition, the CSO has compiled and published a series of quarterly and annual statistics for the period starting with the first quarter of 2003. I have requested the CSO to provide the statistics sought by the Deputy directly to him.
