Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like all Members, I join the Acting Leader in offering my support to the people of Türkiye and Syria following the devastating earthquake. Galway, the city in particular, has considerable Turkish and Syrian communities which are reeling from this tragedy. I welcome the announcement of financial aid by the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and the ongoing support his Department is providing.

I have raised the sentencing being handed down by judges a number of times. I have given many examples of extraordinarily light sentences or suspended sentences being handed down to those who commit burglary and attack our emergency responders and so on. This afternoon, I raise the matter in relation to sexual offences. One recent case related to a violent offender who raped a lady with a mild intellectual disability on a side street and then falsely imprisoned her in her home. He raped the lady twice. He was given a six and a half year sentence. That is unacceptable. The sentence was appealed by the Director of Public Prosecutions and increased to ten years with the final year and a half suspended. That is effectively an eight and a half year sentence for the most horrific act. As we all know, it is highly unlikely that the culprit will serve the full sentence.

I do not want to get into individual cases because I am aware of the rules of the House. There have been similar cases where offenders repeatedly attacked or raped women, whether they met on a dating website or gave false details. The sentences generally do not fit the crime.These crimes are some of the most sickening and vile anyone can carry out. They have an enormous impact in the context of victims' lives. The victim to whom I refer is a young lady who had her adulthood destroyed. It is entirely unacceptable that the sick criminals who carry out these acts will most likely serve five or six years in jail before being released. We need a serious debate about our sentencing laws, particularly in the context of crimes such as those I have outlined here previously, including sexual assault and burglary, that have an enormous impact on the quality of life of victims. I ask the Deputy Leader to bring the Minister for Justice before the House at the earliest opportunity for a debate on the matter.