Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I empathise with much of what the Minister of State said in this regard. A particular difficulty with the amendment is that every crime does not necessarily have an identifiable victim. I also admire the Minister of State for defending his Department. He may or may not agree with me that there are many victims who might not necessarily share that view and who feel their particular plight is not always given the significance it deserves when decisions are being made.

The Minister of State made an interesting point in his speech. He rightly pointed out that while victims are not specifically mentioned they could make representations if they were aware of the potential release of a prisoner who had offended against them. The point he was making was that any good points the victims might make could be applied on certain conditions, which might bring new information to the process. In that regard, and acknowledging that consideration of the release will happen without their knowledge, that valuable information which could be part of the process of consideration is missing from the framework. Perhaps the Minister and the Department might examine some way of taking that into account. We are talking about an important exercise of duty by the Minister in the temporary release of prisoners, which could have serious effects for individuals. Like everything in life, not all early releases are successful. There have been cases where people have reoffended with more serious crimes. I know the Minister and the Department are anxious to deal with that. We should include in the legislation every possible precaution to ensure that does not happen.