Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

Senator Regan acknowledges that the victims charter contains substantial detail. As I indicated, the charter is being reviewed by the Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime. It is hoped the revised version which will take into account developments at Oireachtas and European Union level will be published in the first quarter of 2010.

I do not accept Senator Bacik's view that Garda practice can be haphazard and depends on the individual garda. The Garda Síochána has a fully dedicated victim liaison office and ongoing training is available on human rights, dealing with victims and addressing their needs. In a force of almost 14,800 individuals one will always find some officers who are not doing exactly what is required. By and large, however, the Garda Síochána has come a long way and the position has changed significantly since the time when little assistance was given to prosecution witnesses, especially when court cases started.

The Senators and I differ on whether one should introduce statutory rights in this area. The strong fear is that to do so would create confusion and that such rights could be used by the defence to get their client off, which would not be in the interests of the victim. While that scenario may be a long stretch of the imagination, once a right is written into legislation and it can be proved that certain statutory requirements have not been properly met in connection with a particular incident, it may make life more difficult for everyone. Under the charter, if a victim's expectations are not met, any inquiries, suggestions or feedback on any aspect of the treatment of victims of crime by members of the Garda Síochána will be dealt with by the liaison office. While I understand the spirit of the amendments, I cannot accept the introduction of statutory requirements of this nature.