Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

It will reform the victim impact statement mechanism to grant victim status to next-of-kin in homicide cases. It will introduce new mechanisms to deal with an acquittal where compelling evidence of guilt emerges after the acquittal. It will enable cases to be reopened where an acquittal arises from an error in law by a judge. It will provide for new prosecutions where there is evidence that the original acquittal was tainted by interference with the trial process, including intimidation of witnesses. It will introduce measures to restrict unjustified and vexatious imputations at trial against the character of a deceased or incapacitated victim or witness. Those are very important measures. None of these necessary measures is included in the Fine Gael Bill, so why would we accept a second rate, second best effort, when Fianna Fáil in government is already bringing forward a far more radical approach?

In addition to these legislative proposals already noted, the justice for victims initiative also includes a series of administrative moves to increase support to victims. These include the establishment of a new executive office of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to support crime victims, focusing on the co-ordination of delivery of services. They also include a reconstituted Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime with a role to distribute funding to groups working with crime victims, as well as providing general oversight of services and promoting awareness. Also proposed is a victims of crime consultative forum, representing victims' interests, which will liaise with the commission. Again, this is more than Fine Gael promises in what some have referred to as this bootlegged Bill. Fine Gael has cut and pasted a piece of legislation from New Zealand and added a piece from the Fianna Fáil manifesto about a victims' agency.

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