Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I apologise to the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and the Minister for not being in the House but we were at a committee meeting on the Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017.

I had put my name to this amendment but, since doing so, I have been contacted by a helpful official in the Department of Justice and Equality, who made a number of points which I found compelling. The proposed amendment would require the court to take into account the type and nature of the offence, the circumstances of the commission of the offence and the severity of the offence. In order for a court to determine whether or not evidence should be given by television or video link, the court would need an assessment of the offence but the use of the words "nature of the offence, the circumstances of the commission of the offence and the severity of the offence" would make that task very difficult for the court. In effect, the court would have to hear evidence from the individual concerned to get information about the nature of the offence before it could reach a determination about whether video-link evidence was appropriate. The wording in the Seanad amendment is broader and allows the court to take into account the nature and circumstances of the case and the personal characteristics of the victim. The last thing anyone in this House wants to do is to put a victim through a traumatic experience in a court of law that would have the effect of aggravating the original crime. The purpose of the amendment, and the legislation, is to ensure that does not happen. We do not want to put in a provision that would make it even more complicated by requiring the court to assess the offence before invoking the procedures under the statutory provision. For this reason I withdraw my support for the amendment and I think we are better off removing it.

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