Seán Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)

I wish to share time with Deputies Peter Power, O'Connor, Curran and Hoctor.

I thank Deputy Jim O'Keeffe for bringing this Bill before the House. It gives us an opportunity to study the work the Courts Service board is doing in providing information on sentencing and the management information systems it has in place, particularly the criminal case management system, which is relevant to the Bill.

No one can really argue with the principles which underlie Deputy O'Keeffe's Bill. It is not, however, the best way to achieve his objectives because the Courts Service board has the necessary capacity and has started work on the measures envisaged by the Bill. Everyone agrees that it is a good idea to have a comprehensive register of sentences so that sentencing norms can be assessed. Everyone can agree that it is a good idea to do something which introduces greater transparency to the sentencing process within the criminal justice system. For these reasons we must be careful that whatever we do in the sentencing area achieves these objectives.

As the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan, said last night, we can all agree that few aspects of our criminal justice system generate as much controversy as the sentences handed down by our courts. We all know cases where the man in the street believes the sentence to be too lenient or, occasionally, too harsh. All Deputies have received letters from constituents complaining about court sentences. It is an issue that attracts comment on an ongoing basis.

It is clear, however, that moves are afoot to address the sentencing issues raised tonight by the Opposition. I especially welcome the setting up of a high level steering committee by the Courts Service board to plan for and provide a system of information on sentencing. This will provide some systemic form of information as a reference point for judges. This system will be easily integrated into the information systems the Courts Service board operates efficiently, particularly the criminal case management system.

I am aware that the steering committee has reviewed sentencing systems worldwide. This is a good approach because we should seek out best practice elsewhere, especially in countries with similar legal systems. I understand the committee has identified the sentencing regimes in Scotland and New South Wales as the most relevant to our situation. In this regard, New South Wales has a judicial commission whose major function is to assist the courts in achieving consistency of approach in the sentencing of offenders. The commission's objectives in this area are to reduce unjustified disparities in sentences imposed by the courts, to improve sentencing efficiency generally and to reduce the number of appeals against sentences, thereby releasing valuable resources which can be redeployed to reduce court delays.

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