Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome those changes. Among the most damaging impacts on people are the root of hate crime and the sorts of things that happen through social media, on which we are probably not up to speed.

On a more general point, in policy spheres that I know quite a bit about, sunlight is the best disinfectant. It is disappointing to hear that we are not getting accountability for the consistency of sentencing we need. I urge the Minister to get to grips with that. There is a separation of powers and judges have to be treated independently, but reporting on what happens in our courts is an entitlement of the public. We cannot make proper decisions about minimum and maximum sentencing if we do not have access to such information. If that work could be accelerated, it would be a real step forward.

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