Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

Yes, the suspect is going to face charges of a very serious nature. Are we going to indulge in technicalities? This is the kind of thing that brings the whole law into disrepute. Many people are aghast at some of the technicalities that are used by lawyers. Instead of looking at that, we need to look at what people want, which is justice. We should not just think of the human rights of the accused but also those of the people - as I outlined earlier, and there are very many of them - who have been murdered by some of these thugs. We need to get our focus a little more on what is right for the general populace, rather than on what is right for people who have committed serious crimes.

In his response, the Minister clearly pointed out the exception which has arisen from the Supreme Court case. Other than that, those technicalities cannot be indulged in. It happens as well with other minor offences. We need to strike the right balance in all of this. A lot of the human rights arguments I have read in recent weeks are one-sided. We must come back to the human rights of the innocent individuals who are being murdered, as well as their bereaved families. We should talk to the parents, wives and children to find out where the pendulum should be, and whether we should allow technicalities to be injected into the administration of justice.