The Gazette 1991

GAZETTE

LY/AUGUST

1991

(7) The law has been changed to

make it easier to prove that

alcohol has been supplied to

persons under 18 years of age.

The Minister stated that the

Gardai have found that most of the

complaints relating to under-age

drinking relate to parties held on

private property. The Minister was

assured by the Garda that alcohol

was not readily supplied by

licensees to persons under 18 years

of age. However, no amount of

legislative steps would totally over-

come the problem of young people

acquiring intoxicating liquor from

other sources. The Minister stated

that the problem of under-age

drinking could not be solved by

legislation alone. The social,

cultural and economic factors in-

volved in the problem of under-age

drinking needed to be considered in

a broad approach to the problem.

The Garda were involved in

organising and assisting local

initiatives to deal with alcohol and

other substance abuse. Mr. Burke

informed the Dail that he was

reluctant to introduce a scheme

whereby young persons would

carry an identity card. He believed

local initiatives by concerned

parents, teachers, the Garda

Siochana and others interested in

this matter were likely to be more

successful than a scheme operated

on a national level without local

involvement and support.

With regard to supermarkets, the

Minister had under consideration

the question of whether he should

make an order concerning the sale

of alcohol in supermarkets but he

had to bear in mind that such an

order would have severe reper-

cussions, financial and otherwise,

for supermarkets, large and small.

He wanted to be sure that the other

measures he had put in place to

curb under-age drinking were

working as effectively as possible

before he made the order.

LAWS ON BAIL

Since the law relating to bail was

strengthened in the

Criminal

Justice Act, 1984,

by providing

that a sentence of imprisonment for

an offence committed by a person

on bail must be consecutive on any

sentence passed or about to be

passed on a person for a previous

crime, the number of offences com-

mitted by persons on bail had

shown a very significant decrease.

The Minister for Justice stated in

reply to a parliamentary question

on May 2, 1991 in the Dáil that in

1983 before the 1984 Act was

passed, 8,295 offences were com-

mitted by persons on bail. Last year

the comparable figure was 2,494

offences. The Minister accepted

that the commission of 2,494

offences by persons on bail was a

matter of grave concern. The

figures quoted did show however,

that contrary to recent public

statements, the situation was im-

proving. In relation to an amend-

ment to the Constitution, the

Minister did not rule out a consti-

tutional referendum in relation to

bail. However, he was not prepared

to make a commitment in that

regard at present.

The Minister was examining the

question of how to speed up trials

and take other measures so as not

to have our jails overcrowded with

people on remand.

DRUNK DRIVING

Arising from consultations bet-

ween the Garda Authorities, the

Director of Public Prosecutions and

the officials in the Department of

Justice, revised investigation and

prosecution procedures have been

put in place in the case of motorists

involved in fatal accidents where

drunk driving was suspected to be

a factor.

The Minister for Justice informed

the Dail in reply to parliamentary

question on May 2, 1991 that it

would be inappropriate for him to

disclose all the details of the

revised procedures but he could

confirm that they included the fol-

lowing: all decisions on prosecu-

tions arising from traffic accidents

in which fatalities occur - except,

of course, where there were no

survivors - were now taken by the

Director of Public Prosecutions;

Garda instructions have been

revised with a view to ensuring

that, where warranted, successful

prosecutions are mounted in such

cases by the force; the Garda,

again where warranted, now

accompany the motorists in

question to hospital with a view to

ensuring that they are not seeking

medical attention solely for the

purpose of avoiding a prosecution

for drunken driving; and in cases

where it is not possible to make an

arrest or to obtain a blood or urine

sample, the Garda have been

instructed to make every effort to

secure other relevant evidence in

relation to alcohol consumption.

Mr. Burke stated that circum-

stances arose in the past where a

person involved in an accident -

conscious of being over the limit in

relation to the consumption of

alcohol - could lie at the side of his

or her car and feign injury until the

ambulance arrived and took them

to hospital. Until November 1990

that could be done without a Garda

presence but now if a Garda

suspects an individual was over the

limit, the Garda would accompany

the person so feigning the injury to

the hospital and from there secure

a sample which could be used in a

case at a later stage.

COURT CONDITIONS

The Minister for Justice told the Dail

on May 2, 1991 in reply to parli-

amentary question that those

courthouses in Dublin City which

were provided and maintained by

the Office of Public Works were

generally in good condition.

A few courthouses in Dublin and

all courthouses outside Dublin were

the responsibility of local auth-

orities. The Minister accepted that

many of these courthouses were in

a deplorable condition due mainly to

the reluctance of local authorities

over the years to spend money on

them. It was partly for this reason

that the Minister

secured

Government approval last year for a

change in the method of financing

these courthouses. In future, while

local authorities would continue to

be responsible for courthouses, the

Department of Justice would

recoup to them the full capital cost

of approved major renovation

schemes. The Department would

also recoup some of the main-

tenance costs. The Minister was

satisfied that the new arrangement

would, in the course of time, lead to

significant improvements.

DUBLIN BROTHELS

There have been two convictions in

relation to brothel keeping in the

past seven years. The Minister for

Justice informed the Dáil on May 2,

1991 that all complaints made to

the Garda, or any information

which comes to their attention

relating to alleged brothel keeping

were thoroughly investigated and

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