Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is quite okay.

It is fitting that I am coming in just after Senator Bacik. I note that it is practically one year to the day from the Belfast rape trial, but we will say no more about it. I remember the case referred to by Senator McDowell when he was the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. It was regrettable that, through no fault of his own, high up or low down, he found found himself in that situation.

I echo Senator Bacik's comments on the work done on the issue of penal reform by the previous Joint Committee on Justice and Equality. A lot of work was done by that committee and if the recommendations made in a number of reports it carried out and into which it put serious work had been implemented, the penal system would be far better. We produced a report on community courts in which we looked at the example of what happened on Times Square in New York. It became the epicentre of the trend of having community courts which achieved phenomenal results. It turned Times Square from being a no-go zone into probably one of the safest places in the world.

A report on restorative justice, for which I was a rapporteur, looked at the excellent examples that had been piloted in Tallaght in south Dublin and north Tipperary. Senator Ruane will appreciate from where I am coming from on this issue. The pilot projects were driven largely by a retired judge, Mr. Justice Michael Reilly, who was a great person with huge empathy for people who found themselves on the wrong side of the law, probably because of circumstances related to their background, rather than anything malicious.

Our job in this House is to look after, protect and advocate for the most vulnerable in society. Sometimes - not all of the time; rarely, in fact - we have to give counsel to the Judiciary because its members, no more than anybody else, including those who have been in this House for many years, can, through no fault of their own, become detached from reality. Elements of the Judiciary - a minority - can become detached from society as it evolves, changes and alters. Technology, for example, can change a society. Perhaps when a judge started off in the legal profession, he or she saw a set of circumstances, but after 20 years on the Bench he or she would see a new and evolving set. That is where the Judicial Council Bill and a judicial council could play a significant role. Nobody in this society and country is above receiving advice or counsel.

The Bill is probably long overdue. I am delighted that it has not received the same attention or been subject to the same controversy as another judicial Bill currently going through the House. When the Judicial Council Bill 2017 is passed, we will actually assist the most vulnerable. Senator Bacik is correct that there is so much we could do to help and assist people.

Senator McDowell has served in government. I am very fond of and have huge regard for him, but he was in government for nine years, at a time when the State had a lot of resources and when we could have really transformed the prison service, but that did not happen. Fine Gael has been in government for seven or eight years, in probably the most challenging economic times in our history - certainly in lived history - and done quite a lot.

At this point it is appropriate that a huge tribute be paid to the former director general of the Irish Prison Service, Mr. Michael Donnellan, for the work he did and respecting people who were in prison. He did his best to promote education and rehabilitation.

This is a great and necessary Bill that will enable us to adhere to best international practice.