Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to prolong things either and would commend Senator Kelleher and Rape Crisis Network Ireland for their work on these amendments, which I am delighted to support. Having listened to the dialogue, I take the Minister of State's point that there are technical reasons he is against this particular amendment, No. 6. However, a very important principle has been expressed to him, which is that victims of crime are simply receiving what one might call a generic response currently in terms of decisions not to prosecute. I know, as does Senator Kelleher, from speaking with victims and survivors of sexual abuse or rape that we have a very high level of attrition between the reporting of the rape or sexual offence and the decision to prosecute it. In a large number of cases a decision not to prosecute is taken and it is extremely frustrating for victims to receive what they would see as a very generic reason or explanation for that. That is the spirit behind this amendment. Perhaps the wording "sufficient information" is not, in itself, sufficiently precise but the spirit of this amendment requires greater consideration. It should be possible to draft an amendment that requires that the victim be provided with information specific to his or her case to facilitate him or her in making a decision to request a review. It is information that is tailored to the individual case that is sought and not just a generic reason of insufficient evidence to proceed or that the DPP was of the view that a prosecution would not succeed, or something of that nature.

The issue here is the spirit of the amendment. I am sorry that there will not be any time between the Committee and Report Stages to enable consideration to be given to a better or more precise form of drafting. We all agree that this is very welcome legislation. We all note that people have been waiting a long time for it. I know that, as do all of us here, but we have a lack of legislation in the Seanad for this week and next and could easily have given a day or two, or even a week, between Committee and Report Stages-----