Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The victim can write to the Minister and, in practice, the Minister has considerable regard for what the victim has to say in a matter of this kind. I would not wish to have it on the record of the House that the Minister accepts that victims are not consulted. In any serious matter the victim can, through the relevant probation liaison officer in the prison, insist on being contacted and notified. We discussed this last time in the context of the issue of whether the victim should be automatically notified of a release.

In relation to the amendment, I return to my fundamental point about subsection (2) which sets out a sequence of legal matters to which the Minister must have regard in the giving of a direction. The Minister is under a specific statutory obligation not to give a direction, not to grant temporary release, if he is of the opinion that, for reasons connected with any one or more of the matters referred to, it would be inappropriate to do so. To legislate for representations from any person in this context is to oblige the Minister to personally consider them, vet them and take them into account as a matter of law in his determination. To impose that particular obligation on a Minister in the administration of any Department is a very far-reaching step.

The intention of this Bill is to provide a clearer legislative basis for the power of the Minister to grant temporary release. This could lead to a position where Ministers would have to consider representations made in all cases regardless of their bona fides. This could result in an unsustainable burden being imposed on the Minister and would ultimately be a recipe for chaos.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Amendment No. 9 not moved.