Greater protection proposed for people who kill intruders
Homeowners who injure or kill intruders in the course of defending themselves are to get greater protection under the law.
The Law Reform Commission has set out recommendations which allow people to defend themselves from intruders, rather than having to retreat.
However, the level of violence used against the intruder must be justified, and is subject to a number of tests.
Fine Gael's Justice spokesman Jim O'Keefe has welcomed the move.
He said the recommendations are measured and well thought out: “I think they’re very substantial recommendations and they’re in accordance with the Fine Gael approach.
“They tease out the issues as to what’s reasonable from the point of view of the immanence of an attack, the lawfulness and necessity to use force, and the proportionality of the force used.
“I do believe it goes in the same direction as Fine Gael from the point of view of re-balancing the law in favour of the homeowner,” he concluded.
