Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

Following what the Minister of State said, he is certainly tipping the balance in favour of criminals. He indicated that he would be open to accepting an amendment. If that is the case, I am disappointed he will not accept my amendment. If he believes in balancing the rights of victims with those of criminals, why did he not table an amendment to provide for these rights? If he does not accept my amendment, I would have expected him to table an amendment in view of his comments on Second Stage. My amendment proposes that the Minister shall, before giving a direction under this section, have regard to any representations made by the victim. I do not believe that will tie the Minister into denying temporary release to a prisoner if he or she deserves it on all the other grounds. It gives the victim an opportunity to put forward his or her views or suggestions and the Minister must then decide whether these representations are strong enough to deny the prisoner the right to temporary release.

Perhaps the Minister was told by the real Minister before he came in here today not to accept this amendment. I am sure the Minister of State is big enough to stand up for himself and make his own decisions. I ask him to reconsider and accept my amendment.