Vincent P Martin (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I flagged this issue on Second Stage. The jury is to consider evidence. I understand that this proposal came about on foot of recommendations from the Law Reform Commission so I looked into those recommendations. The commission's concern seemed to be about very complicated and fraudulent matters and allegations that come before the court. The Government is proposing to extend that to all indictable criminal offences.

The word "not" only has three letters. It is one of the shortest words in the English dictionary but it can utterly change the complexion of a statement. As Senator McDowell said, counsel could, for example, misspeak. The matter about which I am open-minded is the charge to the jury by the trial judge, but that may have to be edited. I am implacably opposed to this section. It goes against the whole ethos of a jury considering evidence. It also states that they can be given audio recordings. There is some great stuff here about giving juries charts. Give them as much information as possible. That was the rationale behind the Law Reform Commission's recommendations but the information must be evidential in nature, not a stylistic opening speech from a counsel, although no doubt they are very cogent.

It is good to have the Minister of State in the Department. This is no criticism of his predecessors or his current justice team but it is always an added benefit. It might not be a necessary or essential prerequisite for someone in the Department to be a competently trained lawyer but that can only help and enrich the Department.The Minister of State can call on his experience.

I am a huge advocate of reforming juries and making the law and workings of the legal system more accessible to the public. The Minister is going to talk to Senator Ward about issues. That could open up some other dialogue but it is not a discussion for today. All of the wonderful trials of yesteryear could be video-recorded under the safe management of the Courts Service. Students, including those studying history, could benefit from looking back at those trials in years to come.

The hook line of the RTÉ television programme "Gunplot" was a nugget of information that was saved and recovered, namely, the utterances live in court from the late Seamus McKenna, who comes from a wonderful line of experienced barristers in the Farney county, including Mr. Justice Herbert McWilliam, Paul Callan, Paddy McEntee and, in more recent times, Pat Hanratty, Hugh Mohan and a long list of other up-and-coming barristers. To store their words for years to come would be a huge oracle and treasure for students of history and law. That is for another day. I am digressing. I am implacably opposed to this, but I am not opposed, in the right supervised circumstances, to audio-recording major trials in this country.