The continuous spate of break-ins and burglaries is causing increasing concern throughout the country. Yesterday, a County Mayo farmer was remanded in custody on a murder charge arising from an incident that occurred at his home last October. I do not wish to discuss individual cases but it is important that we discuss the law relating to homeowners who find themselves subject to an invasion of their home or to a burglary.

The law as it is currently applied places, in the first instance, an obligation on the person whose home is being burgled to retreat or find a method of retreating. If retreat is not possible, the homeowner is legally required only to use such force as he or she believes necessary. In other words, is one to tap an intruder with a five iron?

A person who discovers a burglar in his or her house at 4 a.m. is not in a position to anticipate how the courts will determine the position after a year has passed. In the heat of the moment, a person whose house or premises is being burgled must make a decision either to retreat and leave the burglars to do their business or to defend his or her home, property and, in many cases, family. Does the Tánaiste agree that the law in such cases is unbalanced against the victim, who must make a quick decision in the heat of the moment? Will the Government give this matter priority or has it plans to review the law in this regard?

Night after night, people armed with knives are breaking into and entering houses for the purpose of feeding their drug addictions, robbing property or, as happened in recent incidents, kidnapping families for criminal purposes. The law is unbalanced in this area. Does the Government plan to review the legislation with a view to restoring balance for victims?

We all share the concern expressed by Deputy Kenny about the experiences of many citizens in urban and rural areas in recent times. We have a reforming Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the law is constantly being reviewed.

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An enormous amount of legislation in this area has been passed in recent years and the budget of the Garda Síochána has been increased by 75%. I cannot advise on what homeowners or property owners should be entitled to do or not to do. However, I have always been a strong fan of the law being tilted in favour of the victim, although perhaps it was not always tilted that way in the past. I am aware that when individuals are injured if they trespass on property it is the responsibility of the property owner. There are huge issues in this area. If legal changes are required, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform will consider the suggestions made by Deputy Kenny.

I agree that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is quick to comment in soundbites and that a raft of legislation is proposed by his Department. Last year, however, there were 25,000 burglaries in this country. It is difficult to appreciate the terror and concern of somebody whose house has been robbed, not to mention the anxiety and fear caused if one finds somebody in the process of robbing one's property or invading one's home. According to English law, a person's house is one's castle. Article 40.5 of the Constitution states that the dwelling of a citizen is inviolable. It is the duty of the Government to enact legislation that provides protection for citizens.

Each night houses are being broken into and families are being terrorised. However, due to the lack of balance in the law, a father or mother who finds an intruder in his or her home is expected to retreat and where he or she cannot do so, must use only such force as is considered necessary or suitable. If a burglar has a baseball bat and a homeowner has a shotgun, the homeowner is expected to leave aside the shotgun, get a baseball bat and have an equal contest. It is not very feasible to do something like that at 4 a.m. I ask the Tánaiste to speak to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. This is a matter of considerable concern to people all over Ireland. The law in this case is unbalanced and it should be tilted in favour of the victim. The Tánaiste is in a position to do something about that and I would like to see the Government act quickly on it.

I am always delighted to talk to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and I will certainly talk to him on this. We have increased the budget of the Garda Síochána by 75%. We have provided an additional 1,200 prison places. We have reformed the law in many respects. If there are continuing deficiencies, I am certain the Minister would be happy to examine them with a view to bringing forward changes. I would not like to see us become a society like that which exists in the US, where guns are so freely available that tragedies frequently occur like that which we heard about yesterday. We have the best of both worlds here. While there are criminal elements here which were behind recent bank robberies and kidnappings, a large proportion of burglaries is driven by the need to feed a drug habit. That is why we must not spare any effort to deal with the serious drug problems that exist, as they are fuelling crime throughout the country.