Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Tá mé ag ardú ceist inniu a bhaineann leis an gcóras dlí choiriúil agus, go háirid, an chaoi ina bhfuil an Roinn Dlí agus Cirt agus Comhionnanais ag cur i bhfeidhm na pionóis a ghearrtar ar dhaoine. We witnessed considerable media coverage of a case of a woman from Galway who had been abused. In March her abuser pleaded guilty in Galway Circuit Criminal Court and was subsequently sentenced and was to be imprisoned for five years in July. It has transpired that the person is in a wheelchair and was sent home for house arrest. I know the woman and have been in contact with her. She is outraged at the way the system is dealing with the issues around the management of the sentence.The hoo-ha in the media and the way the issue was portrayed by the media was also quite distasteful to her.

How did the information about this man being released and sent home get released to the media? Who tipped off the press? Did it come from the Garda or the Irish Prison Service? How will this man be made to serve his sentence? That is one of the issues. That he is in a wheelchair should not have an impact on the situation. The fact that it will cost the State approximately €2 million, according to some media reports, to keep him under house arrest seems absolutely outrageous as well. This is a serious issue and the Minister needs to investigate it. Will she come into this House and tell us if she will investigate how this information was released and why the victim was not made aware of the situation until she saw it in the media and was being harangued by media outlets?

The situation highlights the fact that we still have not seen the victims of crime Bill come through the Houses. We need to know when the Bill will be brought forward. When will we sit in the Seanad and have it enacted so that issues such as this one can be brought up and addressed? There is a serious need for an investigation into exactly what happened. When will the perpetrator in question be forced to fulfil his sentence, as is right?