Results 17,101-17,120 of 33,115 for speaker:Catherine Connolly

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Where is it? Perhaps we might come back to that issue in due course as a committee as it is a vital piece of the jigsaw and was supposed to have been published by the end of 2018. It has been quoted by the Government on numerous occasions. We have been told that we should await the O'Malley review. That is a very sensible suggestion, but for how long do we wait? There is an existing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Is Ms Counihan saying the low uptake is due to the fact that advice is not provided when it is needed before the complainant-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I understand that. Ms Counihan is saying the existing scheme does not cover the range of offences on which there is the biggest demand for advice - sexual assault offences. Second, advice is not provided before a complaint is made-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Before a prosecution is initiated.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I understand that. What I want to know is what has happened in the Department of Justice and Equality since 1995 in researching the uptake. Are the delegates aware of any research to acertain the reasons for the low uptake of the scheme? It seems to be a very basic piece of research.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: It would be very helpful, would it not as it would identify the reasons? Unfortunately, Deputy O'Callaghan's Bill does not catch the prior to prosecution stage either, which is a limitation that deserves further consideration. The delegates are saying the legislation does not capture the obvious defect or the obvious-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Does Mr. Purcell agree?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Absolutely. That is what we are here for, but it takes a little while to gain a proper understanding. On paper, there seems to be a very good scheme in place under the Legal Aid Board, but it is limited. The uptake is limited. We have some data for 2017 and 2018, but we do not have figures for earlier years as there has been no review of the scheme by the Department.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: What do the delegates suggest with reference to this amendment? Do they suggest we broaden it? Have they thought about a wording for it?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Deputy O'Callaghan might look at the issue again. What does the existing scheme cover? Reference was made to hand-holding. Is it a hand-holding exercise or a one-off consultation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Is it an ongoing process of hand holding? Perhaps I should stop using that term. Is it an ongoing or limited process?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: That is a particular example. Let us look the general picture. When there is a prosecution, are there a number of consultations with the victim during the process?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Does anybody know?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I am a bit lost. I thought that there was a system in place, under the legal aid scheme, to assist victims and provide them with independent legal advice in a limited number of cases. What is the nature of that independent legal advice, as a model for what Deputy O'Callaghan is proposing? Is it a good model? Is it a hand-holding exercise or is it limited to one consultation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: It is potentially a very good system, but we do not know how it is operating in those limited cases.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I agree with Ms Breathnach. This Bill does not capture what the Law Society wants.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: That brings us back to the cost implications, which the Deputy might address. I feel that is absolutely necessary. I welcome the Bill but it must be broadened. Unfortunately, we are doing that in the absence of data, which should be at our fingertips. Similarly, there has been no review of or update on the 2017 Act and how it is operating.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: From where did Ms Breathnach get those figures?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: I ask Ms Breathnach to repeat them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) (Amendment) Bill 2018: Discussion (13 Nov 2019)

Catherine Connolly: Other figures being cited are much lower than that. We will come back to those numbers later.