Ivana Bacik (Independent)

I thank the Minister and his officials. As he stated, this is an important Bill which makes significant procedural changes to our criminal law, in particular the new rules on retrials. Some of the changes it makes are very welcome. I echo the Minister's words on the need to ensure there is adequate protection for the rights of victims. The new provisions on victim impact statements are to be welcomed.

I welcome the Minister's comments on the role of the Seanad. On Committee and Report Stages we had very robust and constructive debate and we did attempt to scrutinise the Bill - fairly I hope - to ensure it did not encroach unduly on the rights of an accused, something to which we must all have regard, while at the same time strengthening the position of the victim and ensuring victims would not simply be overlooked, as often happened in the past in the criminal justice system. We have to be conscious of this need also.

I tabled amendments on Committee and Report Stages. The Labour Party was the only party to do so in this House. The amendments were constructive and I am very glad that on Report Stage the Minister accepted the point we had made on the victim impact statement and the need to ensure the family could give evidence as to the effect on the deceased relative between the commission of the offence and the death of the person, if there was a time gap. This is the lacuna, albeit a rare occurrence I hope, that it is important to ensure is addressed in legislation such as this.

I am glad to see that amendments were made in the Dáil that took account of some of the discussion we had in the Seanad, in particular on the reference to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act in the definitions section - amendment No. 4 refers - and also of the points we made on the respective roles of the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions, the subject of some of the amendments from the Dáil.

The Minister is correct to state we all very much hope the procedures will be used sparingly, certainly the retrial provisions, because the rule against double jeopardy was very well established in our criminal justice system. It should not be upset lightly; it should be used sparingly. We have to have regard to the need for certainty and finality in the criminal law, a matter not only for accused persons but also for victims.

The provisions dealing with victims are very welcome. In our debate we have sought to ensure there will be an adequate balance in the legislation in order that encroachments on the rights of an accused will not be made in breach of his or her constitutional right to due process, to which the Minister referred.

The need to ensure the presentation of cross-referencing legislation was at the heart of the comments I made on Committee and Report Stages on the reference to the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act. This is important. We have too much disparate criminal law legislation and there is a need for codification, something the previous Minister, Michael McDowell, recognised. I am aware a codification project is under way. However, we need to stress the point made.

With regard to the need for greater consistency in the criminal law, a matter that has arisen in discussion among practitioners and at conferences is the need to ensure the permanent status of the Court of Criminal Appeal. Judgments need to be made at a court with permanent status, not one in which there is a rotating series of judges, a point which has been highlighted on a number of occasions.

Very important procedural changes will be made through the Bill and it is vital that practitioners, in particular, are made aware of them. It is up to all of us to try to disseminate information on the changes and inform people about them.