Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

I too welcome the Minister to the House. As I have said on many occasions, he is willing to come to the House. We look forward to the question and answer session on the general issue of crime and its proliferation. Like a previous speaker, I do not have any expertise in medicine or legal affairs but I am interested in the Bill, because I am always interested in legislation which updates, albeit after a lengthy period, and brings together legislation of an earlier period.

The Minister said the main purpose of the legislation is to clarify, modernise and reform the law on criminal insanity and fitness to be tried and to bring it into line with the jurisprudence of the European Convention on Human Rights. On this morning's Order of Business, I was asked about the Human Rights Bill. I will be well versed tomorrow and I will be able to say it is at Committee Stage in the other House. I hope the Bill will pass speedily through the Dáil to enable it to be brought before this House. We are behind in terms of its introduction, particularly in light of our commitments under the Good Friday Agreement. Its delay should not be seen as being due to a lack of enthusiasm for the bringing forward of the Bill; it is a complex area which requires much debate.

While I do not have medical or legal expertise, I have reasonable expertise in history although, of course, everybody is an historian in their own right. I was interested to see for how long we have governed these activities in criminal law. It is amazing to think that many of the judgments and provisions date back to the 1800s and even to the 13th century. Clearly, there has always been a need in society for justice to be administered according to the norms and tenets of the time. Working a modern system against the background of the 13th and 18th centuries shows the gradual approach to criminal activity. No matter how advanced a country is in terms of infrastructure, commercial and social activity or financial obligations, the wheels, as the Minister said, grind slowly.