Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this important Bill, which is another part of the jigsaw the Minister has been bringing before us in reforming and updating the criminal justice system. I congratulate the Minister, Deputy McEntee, on bringing this important Bill before the House today.

I am aware this Bill comes before us as a result of the Minister’s determination to modernise this system, not only to reform the system but also to streamline the process and ensure that if you do the crime you do the time, and to deter others, particularly young people, from entering into criminal activity, especially those involving criminal gangs. Maybe in her next Bill the Minister might look at the sentencing policy for being a member of a criminal gang.

I recognise the issues the Minister is tackling in this Bill such as conspiracy to murder, criminal assault causing harm, criminal assault causing serious harm, non-fatal strangulation, stalking and harassment, and possible civil orders associated with this type of behaviour to prevent it and protect the victims.

In recent times we have seen, throughout the world in co-operation with other police forces in Europe and America, the arrest and detention of senior Irish gangland figures involved in some of the most serious crimes this country has ever seen. I compliment An Garda Síochána on its ongoing efforts to track and prosecute these gang leaders for their crimes. We must also thank the Garda for its intelligence work in preventing many serious gangland crimes, including murder, which often does not get any recognition.

The measures in the Bill will strengthen the resolve of the Garda and our communities to tackle gangland crime. They will also possibly deter others, particularly the young, from becoming involved in criminal activities with gangs.

The introduction of the Criminal Assets Bureau was one of the most successful pieces of legislation brought before the House to tackle criminal gangs but it needs to be tightened up to bring about quicker results in confiscating assets. The initial legislation was carefully drafted to prevent court challenge. It has now been well tested in the courts and as a result of these rulings we may be able to introduce a stronger Bill to confiscate these ill-gotten assets in a more timely manner.

I welcome the particular section of the Bill that increases penalties for all those involved in any way in conspiracy to murder someone and not only the person who pulls the trigger or uses a knife or other weapon to kill, maim or mutilate someone. The Bill will increase the maximum sentence for the offence of assault causing harm from five years to ten years. This is one of the most common charges. While a life sentence can be imposed for an assault causing serious harm it only covers a limited subset of the worst assaults. Most assaults can only be prosecuted at the lower levels, especially where the victim has fully or mostly recovered. Even where a judge considers the offence as among the more serious, he or she is limited in sentencing to five years and may have to reduce this further to reflect mitigating factors such as a guilty plea.

I understand the clauses in the Bill regarding non-fatal strangulation are a result of a direct request by the Garda Commissioner following quality research into this type of crime and the perpetrators of this type of assault, mainly on women. We can see from this research that by creating a greater deterrent we may prevent some of these assaults and the suitable authorities will be able to step in earlier to offer support and prevent a more tragic outcome.

Stalking and harassment are extremely serious and intrusive crimes. They can cause serious devastating psychological distress to the victims, sometimes for the rest of their lives. It is only right to introduce this new offence and bring in this new range of civil orders to protect victims. I understand this offence was recently introduced in the criminal code throughout the English-speaking world following research into this type of behaviour. I understand the introduction of this new crime has led to greater awareness of it and increased reporting and prosecution. This should lead to the prevention of this type of serious crime.

Stalking online and bullying online may be covered by other Acts but I believe that if a person is convicted of both the sentencing should be cumulative. The Bill reflects the public opinion that the seriousness of the crime must be reflected in the sentences that judges can impose.

I am not in favour of the practice that has occurred in our courts in recent years of delaying the sentencing of convicted persons for a few weeks. I understand the legal argument for the need for victim impact statements and assessment of the perpetrator's past history but the gap allows for a distancing between the horrific nature of a violent crime and the sentence received. We need to find a way to link the sentence received to the crime committed to deter other people from entering the criminal world.

The Bill introduces another element of the Government's commitment to zero tolerance and part of the Government's national strategy on domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. I am proud to support the Bill.

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