Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senators for their contributions, and express my thanks to Senator Regan for his remarks on the first amendments that were moved on the basis of the spirit in which we are trying to improve this Bill. To answer the Senator on the issue of character evidence and what he referred to as dropping the shield, Government amendment No. 47 deals with this by inserting the following into the principal Act: "the person has personally or by the person's advocate asked questions of any witness for the purpose of making, or the conduct of the defence is such as to involve, imputations on the character of a person in respect of whom the offence was alleged to have been committed...". Thus, there are amendments clearing up some of the anomalies in that respect and also following on from the 1924 Act with regard to the evidence that can be adduced in criminal trials.

I acknowledge Senator Bacik's comments and am of the view that we should improve assistance to victims of crime as much as possible and contribute to raising awareness about their difficulties. I share that commitment, but the question is how to go about it. That is where we differ. The issue is why Government would adopt a certain attitude, as opposed to people in the Opposition, but we have common cause in trying to assist victims as much as possible.

While this Bill has a role with regard to victims, we already have provisions in our legislation for victim impact statements, intimidation of witnesses, in camera hearings and the non-identification of some victims in the media, and the giving of evidence by television link in the case of young people and other vulnerable victims. There is a place for legislation, but in certain instances legislating for something can be too prescriptive and could lead to a lawyer's playground. I suggest that some of the proposed amendments would lead to a considerable onus being put in the prosecution and on the presiding judge to decide whether a victim's statutory right to be treated with courtesy and compassion had been complied with. I would hazard that such provisions would cause severe difficulty in a well-fought prosecution. Legislation is not the best tool in all circumstances; it can be overly prescriptive or become outdated or rigid as time passes and circumstances change. If we put something in legislation, would we get time in the Oireachtas to change it? Such provisions, for example those which provide that the victim should be treated with courtesy and compassion, could lead to endless legal disputes about interpretation in particular cases.

A charter is more flexible in terms of taking account of individual circumstances while giving strong directions in the majority of cases. As Senator Bacik has acknowledged, gardaí do excellent work in liaising with victims. In respect of most major crimes, liaison officers are assigned to work with victims. The Garda has developed a victims' charter and officer training includes a module on how to treat victims. Gardaí stick rigidly to the guidelines set out in the victims' charter and face disciplinary proceedings if they fail to do so.

My Department has produced a victims' charter through the victims of crime office which I established in conjunction with the Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime. The charter is written in plain rather than legal language so victims can understand it. I favour a victims' charter as the primary means for ensuring best practice in services to victims. I asked the commission to review the existing charter with a view to improving its provisions and hope to be in a position to publish the revised charter in the first quarter of 2010.

The new Part 2 proposed in amendment No. 2 provides for a generic right to courtesy, compassion and respect from any person dealing with a victim. While this is a commendable aspiration, I question the feasibility of legislating such virtuous behaviours into people. The amendment is equally ambitious in regard to the right to information, with Part 3 setting out in great detail the information that must be provided. Compliance with the proposed section 7 of Part 3 would leave gardaí little time to conduct actual criminal investigations. Furthermore, the section makes no distinction between serious and minor offences nor does it take account of whether a victim wishes an investigation to proceed.

Even though the main focus of amendment No. 2 is the provision of information to victims, it does not cover all the information required under the victims' charter. It says nothing about what a victim should do if information is not provided. Should the victim engage in further legal action or appeal to the criminal justice agencies concerned? The existing victims' charter provides a clear avenue of internal complaint to each of the agencies if a victim's expectations are not met and this clarity will be carried forward into the revised charter. If such mechanisms were prescribed by law, a considerable amount of time and discussion would be expended in drafting them. I empathise with the principle behind these amendments but I suggest that prescriptive legislation is not the appropriate vehicle for them.

The proposed Part 2 is brief and aspirational in providing to victims a generic right to services in so far as resources are available. Part 3 contains three sparse sections which set out circumstances in which information can be withheld or given to a victim's representative. Senator Norris sought a definition of "support person of a victim" in amendment No. 7. If these amendments ever became the law of the land, they would be a recipe for confusion and legal wrangling. I do not propose to accept the amendments because they impose a rigid regime where flexibility is preferable, lack clarity and are likely to cause disputes, confusion and further litigation.

Under the heading "What you can expect from the Gardaí", Page 7 of the existing victims' charter sets out in layman's language what victims can expect, stating:

The Gardaí are committed to addressing your needs and concerns in an empathetic, understanding and problem-solving manner.

If you are a victim of crime, the Gardaí will respond promptly to your call . . . tell you the name, telephone number and station of the investigating Garda . . . outline the investigation process to you . . . tell you about the services available from Victim Support . . . tell you, where a suspect is charged . . . show special sensitivity in relation to sexual offences . . . tell you about offender releases . . .

It provides further details for the following categories of victims:

for families of murder victims . . . as a victim of domestic violence . . .i f you are a visitor to Ireland . . . an elderly person . . . if you have any form of physical or mental disability. . . if you are unable to communicate fluently in Irish or English.

The charter refers victims whose expectations are not met to the Garda victim liaison office on Harcourt Street. I respectfully suggest this is a better way of meeting the objectives set out by Senator Regan and others, with whom I genuinely share a common cause.