Censorship of Publications

Tuesday, 1 April 2025

Questions (574)

Liam Quaide

Question:

574. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Justice for a list of books and periodicals currently banned by the Censorship of Publications Board; when such items were last reviewed; the reason for their prohibition and the next scheduled review or expiration of their ban; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15659/25]

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Written answers

Minister for Justice

The Censorship of Publications Act, 1946, provides for a Register of Prohibited Publications. The Register in respect of books is in two parts, and contains details of books which have been prohibited and when the notice was originally published in Iris Oifigiúil, which indicates when the prohibition came into effect.

Part 1 contains particulars of books prohibited on the ground that they were indecent or obscene, as per section 7(a) of the 1946 Act. The prohibition order in respect of any book named in Part 1 ceases to have effect on the 31st December following the twelfth anniversary of the date it was published in Iris Oifigiúil (if it is not revoked by the Censorship of Publications Appeal Board before that).

Part 2 of the Register contains particulars of books prohibited on the ground(s) that they were indecent or obscene and/or that they advocate the procurement of abortion or miscarriage or the use of any method, treatment or appliance for the purpose of such procurement, as per section 7(b) of the 1946 Act.

Part 3 of the Register contains a list of prohibited periodical publications. There are currently 264 publications on this list.

The current Register dates from 31 December 2016, and I will arrange for a copy to be sent directly to the Deputy.

On 21 November 2023, the Government approved the repeal of the Censorship of Publications Acts, following a review undertaken by my Department in my Department on the continuing need to have censorship provisions for printed publications. Preparatory work on the amending legislation has been undertaken and it is planned that this will proceed during the term of the current Government.

When the legislation is enacted, the Register of Prohibited Publications will be formally stood down.

The Register of Prohibited publications was last updated in 2016. The following book was on Part 1 of the Register:

Name of Book

Editions

Name of Author

Name of Publisher

Iris Oifigiuil

Raped Little Runaway, The

All

Jean Martin

STAR Distributors Ltd.Canal St. Station,New York,

New York.

11 March, 2016

It is important to note it would continue to be a criminal offence to possess or distribute the above book, even after repeal of the Censorship Acts, on the grounds that it contains child abuse material.

The following books were included in Part 2 of the Register:

Name of Book	Editions	Name of Author	Name of Publisher	Iris Oifigiuil
Abortion Internationally	All	-	National Abortion Campaign, 30 Camden Road, London NW1	25 February, 1983
Abortion: Our Struggle for Control	All	-	The National Abortion Campaign, 374 Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1	30 September, 1983
Abortion: Right or Wrong?	All	Dorothy Thurtle	T. Werner Laurie Limited, London	13 February, 1942
Book of Love	All	Dr. David Delvin	The New English Library Limited, Barnard’s Inn, Holborn, London EC1N 2JR.	16 December, 1983
Complete Guide to Sex, The	All	-	-	27th July, 1990
How to drive your man wild in bed	All	Graham Masterton	The paperback Division of W.H. Allen & Co. Plc., 44 Hill Street, London W1X 8LB	24 December, 1985
Love Diseases, The	All	Paul Redfern	The Macmillan Press Limited, London and Basingstoke.	30 September, 1983
Make it Happy	All	Jane Cousins	Penguin Books Limited, Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England.	21 July, 1982