Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)

Gabhaim buíochas as an deis labhartha agus gabhaim buíochas leis an dTeachta Brian O'Shea as ucht a chuid ama a roinnt liom. Cuirim fáilte roimh an mBille seo. Is tábhachtach an rud é go bhfuil sé os ár gcomhair anois. Is fíor annamh a chloiseann éinne mise ag tacú le nó ag moladh Bille dlí agus cirt a thagann ó Fhine Gael, ach tarlaíonn rudaí ait anois agus arís. Sa chás seo, is Bille maith é agus tuigim go ndéanann sé iarracht tabhairt faoi cheist atá ag feitheamh le blianta ar an Rialtas chun ruda a dhéanamh faoi. Bliain in ndiaidh bliana, dúirt Rialtais éagsúla go dtabharfadh siad faoi an cheist seo, ach ní dhearna siad beart de réir a mbriathar go dtí gur fhoilsigh Fine Gael a Bille. Go tobann ansin labhair an tAire agus dúirt sé go raibh sé réidh chun a Bhille fhéin a chur os ár gcomhair.

Aontaím le cuid mhór de na moltaí sa Bhille seo. Dar ndóigh, d'fhéadfadh sé a bheith níos foirfe. Sin an jab atá againne agus ag an Rialtas, feabhas a chur air. Sin an fáth gur cóir ligint don Bhille dul chomh fada le Céim an Choiste, ionas gur féidir linn Bille níos foirfe a dhéanamh de ionas gur féidir linn uilig tacú leis. Táimid uilig sa Teach aontaithe go bhfhuil gá le reachtaíocht cheart a thugann cosaint le cearta íobartaigh. Seo tús le sin. Tar éis na reachtaíochta a chur i bhfeidhm, b'fhiú filleadh ar rudaí eile. Ar a laghad, ba chóir don Rialtas tús a chur leis an phróiseas, agus an cheist seo a thapú. Go minic tapaíonn an Rialtas ceisteann eile, conas ceartanna a bhaint uainn agus conas dlithe a dhéanamh níos láidre. Is buntaist é an Bille seo don todhchaí agus ba chóir don Rialtas a léiriú go bhfhuil siad sásta bheith níos tógtha leis an cheist seo ná mar atá siad. Léirigh an méid a bhí le rá ag an tAire nach bhfuil meas aige ar iarrachtaí an bhFreasúra chur chuige cheart a dhéanamh ar cheisteanna móra mar seo. Níor dhein sé aon mhaitheas san slí a bhí sé ag caitheamh anuas ar an mBille. Is cuma an ón Nua-Shéalainn, Ceanada nó pé áit ón ar dtagann na bun-smaointí más féidir costaint a thabhairt do íobartaigh. Ba cheart dúinn tabhairt faoi na cosaintí agus iad a mhúnlú dúinn féin. Sin an fáth a bhíonn Céim an Choiste ann.

The Government should show some maturity, although there is faint hope of that, especially given the reaction today of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and his antics last Thursday with his non-appearance, appearance and reappearance on the Offences Against the State Act motion. He apparently did that to upstage this Bill by holding a press conference outlining his own half-baked proposals on the legislation he was promising for spring of next year. When we reach spring of next year it will probably then be the spring of the following year or the year after that. That said, I cannot let the opportunity pass to deplore the failure of Fine Gael to oppose the continuing renewal of the Offences Against the State Act on that occasion.

It is essential in considering the Victims' Rights Bill that we not only recognise but also legislate for the implementation of rights for victims of crime. The first priority must be crime prevention and community safety in all its aspects. If we get it right, and I do not believe we have done so in any shape or form, far fewer people will become victims of crime or will become criminals, which should not be forgotten. However, the reality is that we are surrounded by crime in our communities, particularly violent crimes against people.

Again today, in my constituency, there was another shooting where a woman was shot in the shoulder. This kind of crime is all too prevalent at present and has many victims, in this case not only the woman but her family, the witnesses and the community as a whole. Crimes in that area in particular are a result of the drugs trade and a feud between warring drugs gangs.

Not enough has been done to protect the victims or the witnesses to these crimes. Very few witnesses come forward because they do not have faith in the system or faith that the State will protect them and their families in the event of them coming forward. It is the same with some of the victims of crime, who are too afraid to explain the full horror of what has happened to them. I appeal again to the Government to look properly at this issue and use the opportunity to try to progress this Bill through Committee Stage.

Under the Good Friday Agreement, a Bill of Rights forum was established and it examined the issue of the rights of victims and witnesses to fair treatment. That forum's final report made two key recommendations, the first of which states:

Everyone who is a victim of or witness to a crime or a human rights violation is entitled to support and assistance in the criminal and civil justice system to enable him or her to give the best possible evidence, free from intimidation and harassment and from fear of victimisation. In particular, a victim of sexual crime, child abuse and/or domestic violence has the right to be treated with respect and sensitivity by appropriately trained justice officials.

There are many practical steps which can be taken, both inside and outside the courts, to assist victims and witnesses. Such people have already gone through a traumatic time through being victims or witnesses to a crime and the delays in the court system often compound this. The fact of a spotlight being on the cases often makes people anxious and the court cases themselves vividly reawaken the memories of what befell them. That can be traumatic and the State must ensure such people have the required supports so they can give proper evidence in court, without fear of intimidation.

The other recommendation of the forum was that:

Following any conviction in a trial for a serious offence and prior to sentence being delivered, a victim has the right to make a statement orally or in writing in open court indicating the impact of the crime on himself or herself and to close relatives and associates.

Principal issues raised in criminal justice and victim's working groups of the forum included the following:

victims' rights include the right: to be treated with courtesy, respect, fairness and dignity; to be heard; to receive accurate and timely information; to privacy and protection; to support, reparation and compensation; to an effective and efficient investigation of the crime; and to timely processing of criminal or other appropriate proceedings following the arrest of the accused.

it was noted that the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland have also seen the development of information and restorative statutory and nonstatutory processes in which it is important to secure victims' rights.

In all of this, it is vitally important to protect the rights of accused persons who are innocent until proven guilty. Obviously, this Bill and every other Bill will have to be tested on that score but at least we have a Bill in front of us to examine. The Minister unveiled a series of proposals and promised legislation at his press conference last Thursday. His half-baked proposals prompted the Irish Council for Civil Liberties to state that "The changes that the Minister has proposed would diminish the rights of accused people without improving——

See this speech in context