Maurice Hayes (Independent)

I oppose mandatory sentences because it removes the judging function from judges. Even more dangerously, it puts the result into the hands of the people who framed the charge, by charging somebody with A rather than B. I saw this operating in the North over the years. It was punitive and disastrous. I had not reflected on Senator O'Toole's point about the constitutionality of it but he is probably right. We are dancing on the head of a constitutional pin but in other jurisdictions judicial conferences are held in an effort to secure consistency and to reflect, to some degree, the concern people have about these matters. We could respectfully suggest to the Chief Justice that this might be worth doing.

I support Senator Norris with regard to his Bill. In all fairness, the Government should allow the Senator's Bill to go forward. If it wishes to amend it, that can be done.

A Bill on the British-Irish Agreement will be before the House today. I doubt that it will delay the House for long. However, I have read the explanatory memorandum and it manages to be even more opaque than the Bill it purports to explain.