Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

It is not the penguins, nor the zoo. This group of amendments deals with two broad areas, namely, the treatment of victims in amendments Nos. 1 and 2 and information to be given to victims in Nos. 3 to 6, inclusive. I acknowledge the Deputies' concern for victims of crime and the need to improve the manner in which their needs and concerns are addressed by the criminal justice system. I listened carefully to the argument put forward. The Minister for Justice and Law Reform has made it one of his major objectives to improve the standing of victims of crime and sought to do this in ways that meet their needs and by using flexible and easily accessible means. This Bill is one of the ways the Minister has addressed the status of victims, through the greatly expanded provisions of victim impact statements and also in permitting the re-trial of acquitted persons where the DPP and the courts are satisfied there is sufficient reason to do so. The Bill protects victims against the abuse of the rules on character evidence by an accused who wishes to take advantage of situations where the victim is unable to respond. The Minister has provided a new structure for better communication between victims, their representatives and his Department. I refer to the victims of crime office in his Department and the Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime.

Later this month the Minister will launch a substantially revised version of the victims' charter. Despite the well-known pressure on public finances, the Minister has succeeded in maintaining the allocation from his Department to a wide range of groups working with victims. His approach has been to meet the needs of victims in a variety of ways, including legislation and administrative action. The Minister has made it clear it is not necessary to address all issues through legislation. Apart from other considerations, legislation can be inflexible, can give rise to lengthy and costly disputes and interpretation and it lacks the capacity to deal quickly with a range of circumstances that arise in particular cases or as a result of evolving social attitudes and patterns of crime.

This difference of approach informs the Government's attitude to the proposed amendments. However, I will state clearly the position of the Minister and the Government. Victims must be given greater recognition and their status must be improved. However, it is not necessary to legislate to ensure better services and support for victims and this is borne out by experience.

I, like the Minister, accept that legislation has a role to play but in many instances, people's needs can be met more quickly and just as effectively by adopting administrative arrangements and by making firm commitments on what one is in a position to offer them. The new victim's charter is an example of such publicly-declared commitments. I therefore oppose these amendments for reasons of policy and because, as will be seen, they are not necessary in view of the arrangements already in place.

However, I wish to comment on the individual amendments. Amendments Nos. 1 and 2, which pertain to the proposed Part on the treatment of victims, are strong in aspiration but appear to offer little concrete assistance. It would be disappointing to think that it might be necessary to provide in legislation that individual gardaí should be courteous to victims. As for giving victims' rights to access medical and other services, the proposed sections 4(3) and 5 make it clear that such rights can be availed of, but only in so far as resources permit. The Deputy should be careful not to mislead victims into thinking he is doing something when it is all so highly qualified and contingent. Moreover, many of the services mentioned, such as medical, psychological and social care, already are available to every citizen under the public health system.

When considering the Part entitled, Information To Be Given To Victims, my first thought was that almost everything suggested therein already is being addressed. All the agencies in the criminal justice sector, eight in total, are contributing to the victim's charter by setting out clearly what they can offer the victim. The provision in the proposed section 7(1)(m) caught my attention. It refers to the giving of evidence via television links or intermediaries. I ask Members to note sections 5 and 6 of the Bill before them, where they will see the Minister already has gone further than has Deputy Shatter. He is providing for this facility to apply not only in the giving of evidence but in the delivery of a victim impact statement. On this question of the information given to victims, I strongly recommend to Members that they should read the address given by no less an authority than the Director of Public Prosecutions at the annual conference of the Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights in UCC on 11 June 2010. He speaks with authority and full independence. His address confirms the central role of the Garda Síochána in keeping victims informed and he gives a detailed account of how the victim is kept informed and, when appropriate, is asked for his or her views on developments in a case when it reaches the court.

This brief analysis of this set of amendments supports the position that while one should legislate when necessary, one should not forget that one also can meet one's objectives in other ways. My preference, which I share with the Minister, is for a mixed approach and therefore I will not accept this group of amendments.

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