§ MR. LONSDALETo ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland whether the attention of the Government has been directed to the increase in the number of recorded cases in Ireland of serious crimes in which firearms have been used since January, 1907; whether the police authorities are of opinion that such increase is due to the withdrawal of the Peace Preservation Act and to the facilities with which firearms are now procurable throughout the country; and whether any, and, if so, what, representations have been made by them to the Government in the matter.
(Answered by Mr. Birrell.) It is a fact that there has been a considerable increase in the number of offences in which firearms have been used. The increase is confined to a comparatively narrow area, of which County Clare forms a large part. The question as to what proportion of the increase, if any, is due to the lapse of the Peace Preservation Act is a highly speculative one. It would be entirely contrary to practice to make any statement as to the purport of the reports of the police authorities upon the subject. These reports, which are confidential, are made for the information of the Government. Persons who wish to commit outrages have never found any great difficulty in obtaining weapons, as is shown by the returns of crime for many of the years in which the Peace Preservation Act was in force.