Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Defendants in a number of serious sexual assault and domestic violence cases over the past several years have had some or all of their prison sentences written off in return for payment of financial compensation, much to the disgust of their victims. Most rape and domestic violence cases are not even reported to the Garda, let alone prosecuted in court. It is disgraceful that women who are brave enough to report their attackers and endure the ordeal of facing them in a courtroom would then have to watch them buy their way out of jail. I will not mention specific cases because I do not want to prejudice ongoing or future legal actions but the overall message is that if one has enough money one can escape justice. If one has sufficient financial resources, one can rape and beat women with impunity.

It is a damning indictment of our justice system that people are regularly sent to jail for non-payment of fines or for petty theft but not for vicious attacks on women. As Colette Browne points out in today's Irish Independent, more than 8,300 people were jailed last year for non-payment of court imposed fines, including 242 who were jailed for failing to pay fines for not having a television licence. Clearly, justice in this country is only for the poor. Financial compensation is entirely appropriate for financial or non-violent crimes but it is outrageous to put a value on the damage that rape or assault does to a person. I ask the Government to change the law so that defendants can no longer pay financial compensation in lieu of jail time. This issue has arisen in several cases. It is not an isolated incident and it is time the Government put a real value on victims' lives by ensuring this will never happen again.