Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Concerns have rightly been expressed in this House over how sexual offences are tried in court, the way evidence is used and the way victims are treated. There are also concerns about the consistency of sentencing for sexual offences. Our Judiciary is rightly independent, as guaranteed under the Constitution, but major reform was championed by former Chief Justice Susan Denham. That involved the creation of a judicial council, one of the key functions of which was to standardise and promote training, deal with sentencing policy and so on. The Bill to establish the judicial council was introduced in the Seanad last November but it has not proceeded to Committee Stage. We talked about this for a very long time. In light of the concerns expressed, why has the Bill not progressed? When will it progress?

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