Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

It will be difficult for the media to notice the difference between the two of them.

I will turn to more serious matters relating to the Bill. The amendments that have been tabled are all to do with the treatment of victims of crime. The provisions in the Bill seek to extend the use of victim impact statements to some victims of crime but not to all of those to whom it should be extended. The provisions contained in the Bill relating to victims of crime have taken three years to reach the point of being enacted by the House. Their origin was stimulated by the Victims' Rights Bill, which I published on behalf of Fine Gael in 2007 and which was voted down in the House at about this time of the year in 2007. That is almost three years ago. The Minister for Justice and Law Reform promised at the time that he would, within six months, bring reforming legislation before the House to give greater protection to victims. It has taken three years to get to the point we are at now. That is indicative of a gross failure on the Minister's behalf to give to the victims of crime the priority to which they are entitled. Indeed, this Bill does not address many of the issues that needed to be addressed. The amendments we have tabled seek to address some of those.

I will read the amendments into the record of the House. We are seeking to insert a new Part 2 of the Bill, entitled "Treatment of Victims". The amendment states:

"4.—(1) Any person who deals with a victim (for example, a member of the judiciary, lawyer, member of court staff, member of an Garda Síochána or other official) shall—

(a) treat the victim with courtesy and compassion, and

(b) respect the victim's dignity and privacy, save that nothing contained herein shall in any way infringe the constitutional rights of an alleged offender or of an offender.

(2) A victim has the right to be informed as fully as possible—

(a) of his or her rights and of the remedies available to the victim,

(b) of his or her role in the criminal justice process and with regard to criminal proceedings and of the progress made in investigating his or her complaint and in the processing of any criminal prosecution arising from such complaint,

(c) of the availability of health services and social services or other appropriate assistance or prevention services through which he or she may obtain such medical, psychological, social care or help as he or she may require.

(3) A victim has the right, insofar as resources are available—

(a) to such medical, psychological and social care or help as he or she may require and to such other assistance or services capable of meeting his or her needs for shelter and support or for referral to other services better suited to provide him or her with assistance,

(b) to protection against intimidation and retaliation.

(4) A victim has a duty to cooperate, to such extent as is possible, with an Garda Síochána and any other relevant law enforcement authority."

The second amendment would insert a new section 5 which would provide: "A victim or member of a victim's immediate family who has welfare, counselling, medical or legal needs arising from the commission of an offence or as a result of anti-social behaviour shall have access to services that are responsive to those needs insofar as resources are available." One of the difficulties that victims of crime constantly experience is that they feel they are not kept informed. After they have reported a crime to the Garda Síochána, they do not always know if their complaint is being taken seriously. There is a deficit or a failure on occasions in providing information. If an investigation is proving fruitful, they are not so informed, even in a manner that could not in any way impede or prejudice the investigation.

Ultimately, when court prosecutions take place, all too frequently victims of crime turn up at the court not knowing what to expect. There can be continuous adjournment of criminal proceedings without the possibility of such adjournments being first explained to them. For a victim of crime, going to court is always a traumatic experience. What occurs in the courts is not always fully explained to them and, on occasions, there are technical exchanges between lawyers and all a victim understands is that for some reason a case is being adjourned or a judgment is being reserved. The consequences and how matters will proceed in the future are not adequately explained to them.

There are also instances of there being a total failure to refer victims to essential social services or, indeed, of the HSE providing the assistance required. I am aware of a case that has received substantial publicity in recent days and which has been referred to the Ombudsman for Children. It is the case of a young girl who, between the age of nine and ten years, allegedly was the victim of sexual assaults. Her mother has complained that the HSE failed to provide her with the type of medical assessment required urgently or with the psychiatric assessment and counselling required. This young girl is now 14 years of age, allegedly suicidal and the Director of Public Prosecutions, DPP, has on two occasions declined to prosecute because the book of evidence has not been adequate. There was a failure on the part of the Garda in that case and of the HSE to adequately co-ordinate between themselves. The failure to prosecute has, of itself, had a detrimental impact on the psychological well-being of this young person.

There are far more reports to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, for example, by victims of alleged rape than ever find their way into the Garda station or through the courts by way of prosecutions, because victims are reluctant to come forward and they do not always get the supports they require. This amendment is designed to ensure that victims are kept informed, are properly respected, that the State addresses their needs in a reasonable way within the capacity of the State and that those working in State services, be it members of the Garda or people in the health or social services, are sensitive to the needs and requirements of victims and also immediate family members, who might be just as traumatised by an event that results in a criminal prosecution.

This is a provision that Fine Gael originally proposed in the Victims' Rights Bill. I had hoped to see a similar provision in this legislation but it is not there. I am hoping this is an amendment the Minister will be willing to take on board. The other amendments that are linked to this are in a similar vein, to protect victims and ensure they are kept properly informed. The new section 6 we wish to insert states:

"(1) A victim shall, as soon as practicable after the victim comes in contact with a State agency, be given information by the personnel of the agency about services or remedies available to the victim by such agency and by any other State agency and by any local accessible voluntary agency.

(2) In this section, "State agency" means—

(a) an Garda Síochána,

(b) the Courts Service Board,

(c) the Criminal Injuries Compensation Tribunal,

(d) Department of Health and Children,

(e) Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform,

(f) the Health Service Executive.

(3) Nothing in this section prevents information required to be given under this section from being given otherwise than is required under this section."

Then there is a proposed section 7 which addresses the issue of ensuring victims can be kept informed and have access to a member of the Garda Síochána who is the person directly responsible for investigating their case.

The new subsection (7)(1) states:

A victim shall as soon as practicable, be given information by an Garda Síochána or, as the case requires, by the Courts Service Board or the Director of Public Prosecutions about the following matters:

(a) the name of the member of an Garda Síochána who has the primary responsibility to investigate the reported offence and/or anti-social behaviour and relevant Garda station;

(b) the telephone number where the Garda referred to in paragraph (a) may be contacted for information relating to the investigation or resulting prosecution;

(c) an outline of the investigation and prosecution process;

(d) the progress of the investigation of the offence;

(e) the charges (if any) laid together with an explanation of the nature of the charges or any final decision made not to charge an alleged offender;

(f) the progress of the prosecution, if any, taken against any alleged offender or alleged offenders and, in particular, the date, time and location of each event listed in subsection (2);

(g) whether or not the accused or offender is granted bail and the terms and conditions of any bail granted;

[This is a particularly important provision in the context of those who have been the victims of physical or sexual violence.]

(h) the victim's role as a witness in the prosecution of the offence;

(i) the victim's entitlement to make a Victim Impact Statement and the role of such Statement;

(j) every final disposition of all proceedings at first instance or on appeal (if any) relating to the offence, to include—

(i) any convictions or pleas of guilty entered and sentences imposed, in relation to the offence,

It then details the various possible outcomes of proceedings as between convictions or pleas of guilty, acquittals or deemed acquittals and any decision of the prosecution to modify or not to proceed with charges laid, including any decisions to accept pleas of guilty.

All too frequently, in the criminal justice system, a plea to a lesser charge than that originally levied, is accepted by the Garda Síochána and the courts, resulting in the person who has pleaded guilty being subject to a lesser penalty, be that a financial penalty or sentence. All too frequently, the reason for those sort of agreements is not explained to the victims of crime. On occasion, there may be a conviction and judicial review applications are made to the High Court which may in the end result in the High Court setting aside a conviction. I am aware of instances where the victims of crime have learned of the outcome of such judicial reviews from news broadcasts on radio or television or when they pick up a morning newspaper. That is not appropriate and it is not showing the respect to the victim that the victim should receive when he or she has given information to the Garda, co-operated with the Garda, given evidence as a witness in a case, when they learn from a newspaper report of the outcome of a High Court action which may result in a conviction, having been obtained, being set aside.

The other information that is important to be given to victims is that where applicable, the possibility of obtaining protection by use of the domestic violence legislation and the court's jurisdiction to order that information identifying the address of the place where the victim lives or works not be given to an accused or an offender.

In the original Bill as published, we included detailed provisions to try to protect the anonymity of a victim where that was necessary and where the individual was under threat. In my view, it is desirable that in certain circumstances, the court should be able to make such orders.

I will not read through the entirety of the provisions contained in this section of the Bill because it will occupy the rest of what is a limited and guillotined session. However, I wish to draw attention to the fact that victims need to be informed of the circumstances in which they can preserve their anonymity where proceedings are brought in respect of rape or sexual offences and the general jurisdiction granted to the courts to make protection of persons orders. These are all important issues.

Amendment No. 5 relates to limitations on duties to give information. Essentially, those limitations are to ensure that the information given cannot impede an investigation or prejudice a prosecution.

Amendment No. 6 allows that where a victim has a support person, someone who has been appointed to provide him or her with assistance and support to come to terms with the ordeal he or she has suffered and to assist the victim through the court process, that person can be given information which he or she can then explain it to the victim who may be upset and distraught.

It has long been my belief that our criminal justice system and criminal law does not give adequate respect to the rights of victims. Victims are seen in some ways as ancillary to the criminal justice process and not central to it. On occasions they are seen as individuals who will give evidence but who are not really entitled to information. We do not always treat them in human and considerate terms and in the manner that they should be treated. In saying that, I wish to make very particular the point that we have within our social services and within the Garda Síochána a large number of people who go out of their way to be of assistance to victims. It would be wrong not to say that. I am well aware of members of the Garda Síochána who have gone way beyond the bounds of duty to provide help and assistance to individuals who have suffered trauma as a consequence of crime. I would not want to give the wrong impression in that context. All too frequently, because of the pressures of work, the fire brigade nature of services provided within our health services on occasion, the pressures of events, the needs of victims get lost. We should reflect these needs in our legislation by means of statutory provisions and not just in victims' charters. There should be statutory recognition of the position of the needs of the victim. We need to have in place provisions in legislation such as the Criminal Procedure Bill, specific identifiable procedures and standards that should be adhered to in the interests of victims of crime. In that context, making such provision and the statutory agencies complying with it, will encourage people who are the victims of crime to come forward. There is a lot of crime committed which is never reported to the Garda. On occasions it is not reported because people feel too stressed; on occasions it is not reported because they fear intimidation; on occasions it is not reported because they have had the experience in the past of being a victim of crime who has made a report to a Garda station and who has received no feedback of any nature thereafter, as to what was done to investigate the complaint made by him or her. Some individuals have, on occasion, sought that information and not received it. An added difficulty has been where files go to the Director of Public Prosecutions and it is believed a prosecution will take place and for reasons that until relatively recently were never the subject of explanation, the DPP concludes that no prosecution can take place.

There are a variety of reasons this can occur. The evidence may not be strong enough, some mistake may have been made in the investigative process, there may be some difficulty in the context of the manner in which an alleged offender was interviewed. There can be myriad reasons a prosecution does not occur. For people who have been the victims of crime, for far too long no explanations were ever given by the DPP where that did not occur. We now know that in a discrete number of areas, the DPP has made provision to give information to alleged victims and I hope he will extend this in the future.

I hope the Government will be willing to accept these amendments.

See this speech in context