Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her statement. Many of the features of the Bill are good and we will support its passage to Committee Stage. Some trials are becoming increasingly complex and lengthy due to technological advances and legal innovation. An informed, non-frustrated jury is an important part of the justice system. The provision to allow some arguments to take place pre-trial, thereby avoiding the need to have a jury in another room for perhaps a week or two, is welcome. If I am to be a little picky, I remember that when the Criminal Procedure Act was first amended about 20 years ago, the power of judges to review the evidence prior to sending it forward was removed. I thought that was unnecessary at the time. Perhaps that power could be reintroduced.

Section 6(6) states that where an accused has not been arraigned, the judge, if he or she considers it appropriate, may direct that the accused be arraigned at the commencement of a pre-trial hearing. If we are serious about the presumption of innocence, that provision should be tightened up a little. In the public interest, the accused should be arraigned at that stage only in exceptional circumstances. We may deal with that issue on Committee Stage.

If the prosecution is to seek a pre-trial hearing, it seems only fair that all disclosures should be provided to the defence before that takes place. Anyone who has worked in the courts will know it is quite common for a notice of additional evidence to be provided on the morning of the trial or the night before. If the prosecution is seeking something like this, all cards should be on the table.

The Bill also provides for hearings on matters such as the availability of witnesses and issues related to discovery. The discovery aspect is especially important due to developments in technology, complex books of evidence, etc. The report on the future of policing envisions better Garda resources in cybercrime. Complex discovery and admissibility matters are well suited to pre-trial hearings.

It is important to maintain a balance between prosecution and defence at all times and the Bill will give a right to request a hearing, amends the existing laws on books of evidence to ensure information is shared and seen and provides an obligation to notify where expert witnesses or evidence are to be used.

The availability of witnesses and their suitability or otherwise to take the stand is also key. We see generally in the community a disturbing and unfortunate trend whereby young people under the age of 18 years are witnesses or the accused in high profile criminal trials, often in quite violent circumstances. While reportage of crime and discussion of crime is another issue, it is often dominated by the who, what and where. Until we reach the issue of the why, we will not be able to explain some of these acts. Often there is a performative ignorance at play with regard to these developments but there has been a neglect of urban centres, including the north inner city of Dublin. Addressing the causes of crime with early interventions, targeted resources and community policing, education, housing, social care and community-led initiatives is important.

We do not have a dedicated youth justice agency. Although the transfer of youth justice functions from the former Department of Children and Youth Affairs to the Department of Justice may yet deliver improvements, it carries a risk. That risk is that young adults and children might be treated with the same resources and processes as adults, which would be inappropriate. I have heard from people in the justice system that the situation has been a crisis point, particularly over the last few years, with younger and younger individuals in a greater state of crisis. A stand-alone youth justice agency, properly resourced, is important. It should include professionals from the medical, social work and justice fields. Young adults who are violent and a danger to themselves have no real place to recover when they are arrested by gardaí. Although a new national forensics facility in Portrane is welcome, we lack a dedicated centre for minors, and this might be increasingly necessary. There was a proposal to establish a facility for young people with psychological difficulties in Cork but that was one of the first things to be abandoned when the last crash happened.

The Bill before us will be one part of a solution but wider policy and societal issues must also be addressed. The Bill contains a welcome provision to extend legal aid services to cover costs incurred during preliminary trial hearings. Some judges can be difficult about extending legal aid certificates. The legal aid thresholds should be raised because the working poor are sometimes unable to fund and raise a defence.

Section 9 gives the power to exclude members of the public from preliminary trial hearings where some specific offences are being tried, including crimes of a sexual nature and where section 20 of the Criminal Justice Act applies. We welcome this provision. We will see what happens on Committee Stage.

See this speech in context