Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

The Deputy will appreciate that the commitment in the programme for Government was the subject of a review in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The Department asked the Law Reform Commission to examine whether such a measure would improve the system. The Law Reform Commission has recently opined that in its view it would be a mistake to proceed with such a power as it would be counter-productive in terms of the administration of justice. In such circumstances, we will have to examine the Law Reform Commission's arguments before deciding whether to abide by its wise counsel in this matter or to proceed with the commitment that was made some years ago.

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