Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There absolutely is. It is one I take very seriously. It is a responsibility I do not shirk from at all. To touch on some of the issues the Deputy raised, in the case of an enlisted member of the Defence Forces, I am told that, following a conviction where imprisonment or a suspended sentence is awarded or an appeal has been heard or not submitted, the process for discharge commences upon receipt by military authorities of the certificate of conviction. What does that mean? We need to start speaking in plain English. If you have a criminal conviction, you have no right to be in our Defence Forces - plain and simple. We need to know how many people in the Defence Forces have criminal convictions and when they are leaving. That is not too much for me, as Head of Government, to ask, nor is too much for the Tánaiste, as Minister for Defence, to ask. I acknowledge the excellent work by the Tánaiste in actions to bring about a cultural change in the Defence Forces, including the establishment of the tribunal that the Deputy quite rightly referenced.

On the criminal justice aspect, section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993 provides an important safeguard under which the DPP may appeal to the Court of Appeal to have a sentence reviewed if it appears the sentence imposed in a case is, in law, unduly lenient. Nobody should in any, way, shape or form suggest that Natasha should be grateful or have any sort of gratitude for coming forward and seeking justice. Absolutely not. A number of changes are under way in relation to judicial training, sentencing guidelines and preliminary trial hearings. The Deputy is right, however. Sometimes we think we have come very far as a country and then something like this pops up and we realise we have not come nearly as far as we think. We have a lot more work to do in this area, and our work continues.

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