SYRINGE attacks where contaminated blood is used will carry life imprisonment under a Bill introduced by the Minister for Justice.
Mrs Owen said that it would apply for the offence of intentionally injuring another by piercing his or her skin with a syringe which contained, or had on it, contaminated blood or fluid. Similarly, she was making it an offence to intentionally spray, pour or put into another contaminated blood.
"As both of these offences are, I believe, on par with attempted murder, I am providing that this crime will be punishable by life imprisonment."
There will be a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment for injuring by piercing the skin, or threatening to do so with the intention of causing the other person to believe that he or she may become infected with disease.
Mrs Owen said that the Non-Fatal Offences against the Persons Bill also created a new offence of harassment which was aimed at behaviour known as "stalking".
The Bill also provided for the offence of abduction out of the State of a child by a parent in a "tug of love" situation, and the new offence of endangerment where a person intentionally or recklessly engaged in conduct which created a substantial risk of death or serious harm to another.
The Fianna Fail spokesman on justice, Mr John O'Donoghue, said that the number of robberies committed by persons wielding offensive weapons, and particularly syringes, had increased dramatically in recent times. The number of indictable offences in which a syringe or needle was used in 1994