Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the House for agreeing to let Deputy John Lahart and I swap seats. We are moving ahead of time, but I want to add my voice to the debate on the Bill and compliment my colleague Deputy Jim O'Callaghan on bringing it forward. It is good to hear such positive contributions across the House. The Irish Penal Reform Trust, too, has added its weight behind the legislation. I noticed, while listening to the Minister, that she said it was her intention to bring forward proposals in this regard and that putting the Parole Board on a statutory basis was part of the Fine Gael manifesto. If one looks back to the 2011 programme for Government, however, there were many promises on legislation that remained unfulfilled, including in my area of responsibility during that term, including, for example, the information and tracing Bill on adoption. I do not say this in a critical manner, but I am saying the composition of the Dáil affords the Opposition parties a real opportunity to help and assist the Government which might not always be able to get its own legislation through the House. The Bill represents real and meaningful help from my colleague who, as I think everybody will experience, has the knowledge and experience to bring forward legislation such as this.

When one considers the current position, it is effectively at the discretion of a Minister for Justice, on the advice of a non-statutory Parole Board, whether somebody should be given parole. That is not right and my party firmly believes a body that performs such important functions as advising on whether convicted killers or rapists should be allowed parole should be clearly defined and organised in the Statute Book. Whether we care to admit it, there are certain public representatives, Members of this Dáil, who could potentially serve as Minister for Justice and who, as we witnessed in the last Dáil, of which I was a Member, refused to condemn murders and rapists. I certainly would not like to see people who are friendly with rapists and murderers serving in positions of authority or as Minister for Justice where the Parole Board was not on a statutory basis. It is, therefore, welcome that the Bill would provide that the Parole Board was fully independent and placed on a statutory footing, would remove the decision-making process from political control and ensure future decisions would be made in an open, transparent and consistent decision-making process.

I noticed recently that a former Minister for Justice had also alluded to the fact that previous members of the Parole Board had been appointed based on political connections. I do not say this in condemnation of the Government; I am sure it could just as likely have been a former member of my party. That is not right or proper and it is right that we have people with the necessary expertise such as psychiatrists, psychologists and welfare officers to make these decisions.

It is welcome that the Bill would give significant rights to and provide supports for victims of crime because when we talk about the duration of sentences handed down, we are talking about the most heinous of crimes. The Bill would provide for an obligation to ensure the victims of crimes and their concerns would be addressed.

I welcome what Deputies Brendan Howlin and Catherine Connolly said about the need for a wider debate on crime. The problems in the inner city are well known and have been receiving a lot of attention. It is also well known that most crimes are committed by people who tend to come from less well-off families. While the focus is on the serious problem being encountered in inner city areas, these problems are felt in every community and constituency, in every rural village and small provincial town. The extent to which drugs have taken over the country is simply phenomenal. We need to deal collectively with the consequences in the numbers of fights, assaults and burglaries. While it is welcome that there is a focus on what is happening in the inner city which rightly needs our attention, it cannot be done to the detriment of what is happening in rural Ireland.

I thank the Chair for his forbearance in making my contribution.

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