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

I thank Deputy McDonald. There is a long history in this country and, indeed, elsewhere of difficulty in securing convictions in respect of sexual offences. There is also a long history here and elsewhere of a belief that the sentencing does not reflect the seriousness of the crime. I am on record again and again as saying that I do not believe that enough attention has been paid to victims in our legal system and I reiterate that this afternoon. We need a sea change in attitudes to victims across the criminal justice system. That is why the Government introduced victims of crime legislation in line with an EU directive, which, thankfully, is leading the way in that change. I believe as that change takes hold, some of the issues to which the Deputy referred will be dealt with more robustly and more appropriately within our system.

As the Leas-Cheann Comhairle said, sentencing is a matter for the Judiciary. We respect the separation of powers in this country. The sentencing regime for sexual crimes has been greatly strengthened in recent years. For example, as the Deputy will be aware, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017, which I introduced last year, has much stronger sanctions in respect of online grooming. The Act introduces a specific offence relating to the use of information and communications technology to facilitate the sexual exploitation of a child. It was extremely important that the House passed the legislation because there are new forms of interaction with young children on the Internet, which makes them extremely vulnerable to sexual grooming and sexual exploitation. There is a huge educational job as well for all of us to do. The reality is our criminal law is strong in respect of the sanctions and penalties judges can hand down but in each case, it is a matter for the Judiciary and it is not open to Ministers or any other Member to intervene in any way regarding how a particular case is conducted or in the outcome of such proceedings. I hope I have made it clear that, from the Government's point of view, we take these sexual violence offences extremely seriously and we have introduced stronger legislation.

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