Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

We are not opposed to the Order of Business.

This morning many of us throughout the country heard the harrowing evidence given in the High Court yesterday by Mrs. Murphy in the ongoing trial concerning the manslaughter of Brian Murphy. His death was, to say the least, the worst nightmare of a mother and a father but one lesson needs to be learned from this trial. I do not intend to comment on the trial itself but we must learn a lesson from the way victims are treated in the criminal justice system. It appears a number of simple measures need to be put in place in our courts to ensure victims' voices are heard. First, we need bigger courtrooms so that victims are given adequate space and a designated area where they and their families can listen to the trial and, second, we need to inform victims on an ongoing basis about the progress of prosecutions brought before the courts. Those two straightforward measures need to be put in place in the context of a greater debate on the way we treat victims in our criminal justice system.

The Murphy case and the media exposure thereof highlights the need for a more detailed debate on the voice of victims in our criminal justice system. We need that debate and this House would be a perfect venue in which a proper debate could occur. I urge the Leader to bring forward that debate as soon as possible because the voice of victims is largely forgotten and it is to our shame as a Legislature and a courts system that that is happening.