Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator O'Donnell for bringing this legislation to the House. The lack of consistency of sentencing, in general, and not just for murder, is a serious issue. I welcome the victims of crime and their families who are in the Visitors Gallery and the representatives of AdVIC because this is a difficult debate.

I concur with fellow Senators regarding the LRC recommendation that judges should be permitted to proposed a minimum mandatory sentence, which would then be used as a guide for the parole board. Fianna Fáil has a Bill before the Dáil, which is awaiting Committee Stage, based on that recommendation. It proposes that the minimum sentence recommended by the judge should be used as a guide by the parole board and that the board be put on a statutory footing. This would remove the authority to decide if an offender should be released by a certain date. Currently, responsibility for granting parole lies with the Minister, ultimately. The parole system that operates at the moment is entirely at the discretion of the Minister and it is not fit for purpose. It is not on a statutory footing and it has eroded the separation of powers, which is a fundamental of the rule of law in our country and many modern democracies. Fianna Fáil believes that a body that performs functions as important as the parole board such as advising whether convicted killers or rapists should be released should be clearly defined and organised in statute. The failure to place the board on a statutory footing means its important functions are denied the force of law and merely constitute a form of advice provided to the Minister. This is particularly problematic since prisoners who believe they have an entitlement to parole can avail of the courts to achieve this entitlement. More fundamental, there is something incoherent about having a member of the Cabinet making decisions on matters that were initially decided by the Judiciary. This practice offends the principle of the separation of powers and politicians should be kept away from making decisions that should be in the hands of the court. The sentencing of convicted prisoners is an integral part of our criminal justice system. It constitutes very much an injustice for victims of serious crime. Thead hocbasis for granting parole, which is ultimately at the discretion of a politician, is outdated and it should be amended to properly reflect a modern judicial system.

We will not support the legislation because the Fianna Fáil Bill before the Dáil adequately addresses this matter. It gives the Judiciary, which has full knowledge of cases and mitigating factors relating to the accused, the power to recommend a minimum sentence that can then be proffered to the parole board, which will be put on a statutory footing. Its members will be independent of politicians. They can use the guideline the judge has given them for release dates.

Some of the Bill's provisions are antiquated.It would make our laws one of the most stringent in Europe. There may be, as mentioned, constitutional and human rights issues with the Bill.