Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Fianna Fáil will support the Bill and we will work to strengthen the measures outlined in it on Committee Stage. The recent statistics published by the Central Statistics Office on the recorded incidents of sexual offences in the first quarter of 2018 show a 10.6% increase in the number compared with the first quarter of 2017. This makes sexual offences a category with one of the highest percentage increases in all recorded crime. This is sad and shocking. The actual number is likely to be higher than indicated rate due to the fact that reporting rates for crimes of rape and sexual abuse are extremely low in this country. This trend of under-reporting is largely because the victims of these heinous crimes are left in a state of fear that our criminal and legal system will fail them, that the perpetrators will avoid just sentencing and that the victims themselves will be put on trial. We have certainly seen this over the past 12 months. The Bill is a welcome step towards removing this fear from the victims.

Establishing consistency in the courts with regard to sexual offences is a vital step that we should have taken long ago. The Bill will help assure victims that there are strong standards of justice to which we hold everyone to account. The Bill also calls for the long overdue establishment of a judicial sentencing commission that would prepare sentencing guidelines for the Judiciary. We welcome this provision.

The State must provide adequate resources to the office for Internet safety in the Department of Justice and Equality, knowing it will be able to effectively target those abusers who use computers and smart phones to commit their crimes. Prioritising post-release supervision of convicted sexual offenders is another important aspect that has been overlooked. Victims, as well as those convicted, need to know we have not forgotten about them and that we hope to keep society informed and safer because of this.

The provisions in the Bill will, no doubt, mean more stringent sentences for repeat sex offenders. This is very much welcomed as sexual offences are among the most abhorrent of crimes. The leniency of sentences handed down to persons convicted of sexual offences has been consistently in the headlines and rightly so. The public is rightfully disgusted and angered about this. Behind the headlines are victims who are left feeling totally devastated by the system and who are negatively affected once again.

There is no doubt, and it is only right to say, that lenient sentences can have a real and damaging impact on survivors and deter others from reporting offences. That is if the Minister wishes to listen.

Increased sentences for these awful crimes are to be welcomed but the failure of this Government to establish a sentencing commission means that even when this legislation is in place, there will continue to be major inconsistencies in cases of this nature. In April 2018, Ms Justice Úna Ní Raifeartaigh, in sentencing a man convicted of the repeated rape of his granddaughter, described the lack of rape sentencing guidelines as "somewhat bizarre". She specifically pointed to the fact that whereas there was much authority as to general sentencing principles, there was very little in the way of actual figures to guide her in making her decision.

In 2013, Fianna Fáil published a Bill calling for the establishment of a judicial sentencing commission that would prepare sentencing guidelines for the Judiciary. This also formed part of our manifesto for the 2016 general election. Similar Bills have followed from other parties but despite paying lip service to the need for consistency in sentencing, the Government has repeatedly failed to prioritise legislation of this nature. Judges, victim groups and Opposition parties are in unison in calling for this legislation. It is impossible to understand why the Government is dragging its feet on such an important matter. The Bill also equalises the maximum penalty for incest by males and females aged 17 years or over at ten years' imprisonment, which is welcome.

Sadly, we must acknowledge that rates of crime of a sexual nature, in particular repeat sexual offences, are on the rise. We owe it to the people of Ireland to prioritise this Bill and start gaining the trust of victims. They must know that persons convicted of sexual offences will not be handed lax sentences. They must know that we hear them in this House and that we will take a strong unified stance against all crimes of a sexual nature. The Minister will not find Fianna Fáil wanting in supporting this Bill.

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