Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)

This amendment relates to the powers of the High Court to ensure any aspect of a sentence other than duration that is less favourable than the equivalent Irish sentence shall not be imposed. The amendment seeks to remove the discretion of the High Court and would simply state that no provision which is less favourable should be applied here. While that might seem reasonable, the issue remains that someone might decide what aspects of the sentence are less favourable. If the court is not empowered to do so, it becomes a function of the Minister. At this stage, two questions arise. First, the Minister's decision would be open to judicial review if it became a matter for a court and, second, matters relating to imposition as opposed to administration of sentences are in the power of the court and it would seem preferable to leave those arrangements intact. For those reasons, I do not propose to accept the amendment.