Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has asked a very broad question. I have been fortunate enough since my appointment to meet a wide range of people who have issues with the operation of the criminal justice system. Many of them feel the system has not served them as well as it should have, or have suggestions as to how it can be improved. They include victims of sexual assault, people who have lost loved ones on the roads, others who have lost loved ones in brutal circumstances, and some who regard themselves as having been treated unfairly by agencies of the State.

In considering any request for a meeting, I must take into account any mechanisms, statutory or otherwise, which are in place for dealing with individual cases and avoid taking any action which might interfere with those processes in any way. In the case, for example, of persons with complaints against An Garda Síochána, I am obliged to take into account whether the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission is examining the matter. In addition, as the Deputy will be aware, I have introduced an independent review mechanism. In summary, my decisions in regard to meetings are determined by my best assessment of where the public interest lies.

While I have met people with a wide range of views, I have given particular priority to the needs of victims of crime. In recent days, for instance, the Minister of State, Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, and I met key stakeholders in Dublin Castle for a consultation on a new strategy for dealing with domestic violence, where we met with representatives of Victims' Rights Alliance and I launched a report for Rape Crisis Network Ireland. This is against the background of the priority I am giving to the implementation in Ireland in 2015 of the EU directive on victims' rights, which will help to introduce an important balance into our criminal justice system.

The Deputy, speaking in this House, recently drew a contrast between the decision of the Taoiseach to meet with Maíria Cahill and what he portrays as a reluctance on my part or on the part of anybody else in government to meet with other individuals seeking justice. That is a very disingenuous claim. While issues surrounding the prosecution of Ms Cahill's case are being examined in the North, the central issue which has given rise to great public concern is not how her case was handled by the agencies in Northern Ireland but how it was handled by the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin. While there are mechanisms in place to ensure the agencies of this State and those in Northern Ireland are accountable, no one appears to be accountable for the way Ms Cahill was treated by the Provisional movement.  The Deputy is being disingenuous in drawing a comparison between my meetings with victims of crime and the Taoiseach's meeting with Ms Cahill.

See this speech in context