James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will respond to some of the points raised by Deputy Keaveney in the interest of accuracy. We did not arrive at a period of six months as a penalty. That is already provided for in the law. The Department of Justice and Equality is responsible for the proposal of 14 years and can explain the rationale behind it. Deputy O'Donnell asked about the legal basis of this provision. I can ask the Department to outline the legal basis but it clearly relates to life terms in the modern understanding.