Enda Kenny responds to Village
Enda Kenny rejects the front cover and lead story in last week's issue of Village
The front cover and two articles of Village magazine (17-23 November 2005) seriously misrepresent views that I have expressed in relation to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997.
In particular, Village claimed that I have aligned myself with anti-Traveller sentiment. These claims and misrepresentations are wholly at odds with the facts. I have made no comment on the outcome of the Nally case.
I know Padraig Nally, he is a constituent of mine, but I have not commented on, or criticised, the verdict of the court. The death of John Ward was a horrific event that has devastated the victim's family. Nothing I have said or written could or should be construed as justifying or minimising the loss felt by Mr Ward's friends and relatives.
The issue that I addressed in my article in the Irish Daily Mirror of 16 November was the current law as it applies to non-fatal offences and particularly the position of a homeowner who finds himself with an intruder in his house.
My article starts: "Its 3am. You're woken by a noise downstairs. There is an intruder in your house." Some might find that description alarmist, but to a homeowner faced with that scenario it is potentially frightening and it is not unreasonable to discuss what the homeowner's position is under current law.
The article went on to set out, as it states, "in simple terms" some issues that arise under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997. The issues raised are exactly the same issues that Fine Gael raised more than eight months ago, both in the Dáil and at a conference that we held in Citywest. Indeed the editor of the Village declined an invitation to participate in a debate during that conference.
Your article questioned some of the points raised in my article, in particular the issue of the homeowner availing of the opportunity to retreat and whether a threat of force might suffice.
In support of your argument, you reproduced Section 18 of the Act. In the interests of accuracy, it is a pity that you did not reproduce Section 20 of the same Act which defines and extends the "use of force" as set out in Section 18. The latter section makes clear references to a threat of force (subsection 3) and the opportunity to retreat (subsection 4).
It is worth reprinting the relevant subsections:
(3) A threat of force may be reasonable although the actual use of force may not be
(4) The fact that a person had an opportunity to retreat before using force shall be taken into account, in conjunction with other relevant evidence, in determining whether the use of force was reasonable
These subsections apply in all cases of confrontation, whether it takes place in your own home or in a public place. They do not apply, as has been suggested, only where the confrontation takes place in a public place.
It is not clear to me whether the omission of reference to these critical subsections of the Act was down to poor research or an unwillingness to acknowledge facts that detracted from the gross misrepresentation contained in the article. Perhaps the lure of a misleading front page and editorial was too much to allow the facts to get in the way. The irony that Village also criticised tabloid media for failing to substantiate printed claims should not be lost on readers.
I have acknowledged that the law in this area is complex and any changes need to be carefully thought through. But I reject the implication in Village that to raise an issue of public concern and to give voice to the genuine worries of many citizens who fear the consequences of facing an intruder in their home is to engage in some form of anti-Traveller campaign.
It is a pity that the author of these articles in the Village last week did not show the same level of balance and fair comment that Village's own columnist, Eoin O Murchu, demonstrated in his piece last week on my speech on the Irish language. Such an approach would have been more accurate but less sensational. One fears that that was the idea in the first place.
Enda Kenny TD is leader of Fine Gael