Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

This was the point I made yesterday. Unless there are extenuating circumstances, such as old age or infirmity, a life sentence should mean life. This should apply to a person going out with a knife or a gun in their pocket on any night, or who returns home for a gun, or who has a gun in a car, and who blasts an innocent person. Is society not at this stage, even though we have moved from seven-year minimum sentences to 13-year minimum sentences? I believe the parole board view is to go to 15 years. Unless the circumstances are seen differently by the parole board, why should the sentence not be far tougher?

If we have mindless people who do not care a damn what they do with anybody's life, we must be tough.

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