Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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The Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Deputy Browne, is most welcome to the House. The first Commencement matter is by Senator Crowe who has four minutes.

Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, for coming to the Chamber this morning. Before I commence, I acknowledge that this an issue on which my colleague, Senator Gallagher, has been working for some time in seeking to progress with the Criminal Justice (Public Order) (Amendment) Bill 2019.

To give a bit of context, I raise this Commencement matter following recent attacks on gardaí, of which the Minister of State is well aware, most notably in Ballyfermot last weekend. I do so also in the context of previous attacks going unpunished even when the perpetrators are caught, prosecuted and found guilty. Suspended sentences have frequently been handed down by the courts for such attacks, with this again happening in a case which involved a severe attack on a garda some weeks ago, where perpetrators again walked free having been found guilty. It should also be noted that this is not limited to members of An Garda Síochána. There have been 41 cases of direct physical assault on staff working in ambulance services around the country during 2020 and 2021. As that period covered the pandemic, this figure is lower than it might be in a normal two-year span. I also want to raise the issue in relation to accident and emergency departments, and particularly the accident and emergency department in Galway University Hospital where emergency staff, nurses and doctors have huge issues. There have certainly been instances of this there as well.

Moving on to firefighters, they have also come under attack. Last month, the chief fire officer for Clare outlined that over a two-week period, they had attended more than a dozen calls in one area and, in the majority of cases, colleagues had been attacked.

These people are our first responders and they risk their health and well-being every day when they go out to work. They are being attacked far too often and rarely, if ever, are appropriate sentences handed down to those who carry out such attacks. Members of the general public are really concerned about this. Whether it is sons, daughters, wives or husbands who go out to work, the Government needs to send out the message that this is totally unacceptable.

There is no deterrent to thugs carrying out such attacks. Even if they are successfully prosecuted, more likely than not they will walk out of court on the same day as the trial. As the Minister of State knows, that is what frustrates the public. Both from talking to gardaí myself and from comments made by the Garda Representative Association, it is clear that this issue is increasingly frustrating gardaí, as well it should. It is frustrating those of us who are merely reading about it let alone those witnessing attacks on colleagues which effectively go unpunished.

I also have huge concern given that a number of people in Galway city, in my own area, in their 20s served in the Garda for two or three years but then left the force. It is something we have to be very mindful of. This must change and a clear message must be sent out by Government that attackers of first responders will serve significant time in jail. The Garda Representative Association has called for the introduction of mandatory minimum sentencing to tackle this scourge before it gets out of control altogether. I put my support on the record this morning for this proposal. Other jurisdictions have already taken this necessary step, including Australia where the minimum sentence for anyone convicted of assaulting an emergency working is seven years with a maximum sentence of 15 years for more serious assaults. In the UK, there is a minimum sentence of two years for anyone convicted of assaulting an emergency worker. It is time Ireland also took the necessary measures.

It is time that those who carry out these sickening attacks on our emergency service workers face punishments which reflect the seriousness of their offences. I urge Government and the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, to begin working on this immediately and consult with the appropriate stakeholders and organisations and so on, with a view to having this implemented in 2023.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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On behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, who cannot be here today, I thank Senator Crowe for raising this very important matter around the sentencing for those found guilty of attacks on emergency service workers. I echo the Minister's and the Deputy's unequivocal condemnation of the attack on two members of An Gardaí Síochána in Ballyfermot on Monday of this week. Attacks like these on our valued emergency service workers are simply unacceptable and are not only deeply traumatic for the Garda members concerned but also cause serious damage to the communities which our emergency services work to protect. I convey my best wishes to both gardaí who were injured and to their colleagues and family members. I wish them both a speedy and full recovery. I am aware a number of individuals were arrested in relation to this serious incident and that two individuals have been charged. The Senator will appreciate it is not appropriate for me, as a Minister of State at the Department of Justice, to comment on a Garda investigation that is under way into the particular incident. I reiterate the Garda public appeal for any information about this incident. Anyone who has witnessed the incident or possesses video footage of the incident should contact the Ballyfermot Garda Station at 01 6667200, the Garda confidential line at 1800 666111, or any Garda station.

It is vital that emergency service workers are sufficiently protected in carrying out their work and that the law reflects and responds to the situations in which they find themselves. I assure the Senator a range of robust legislative provisions are available to the Garda authorities in circumstances where threats or assaults are made against gardaí. Such offences carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison under section 19 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994. I note that this penalty was increased from a maximum of five years in prison in 2006. The 1994 Act also provides for an offence of violent disorder which may be committed depending on the circumstances and carries a maximum penalty under the 1994 Act of ten years in prison.

Persons committing such offences may also be liable to prosecution for assault causing harm or causing serious harm under the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997. The maximum penalty for assault causing harm is a sentence of five years in prison. The maximum penalty for causing serious harm is up to life imprisonment. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, has included a provision in the Criminal Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 to double the maximum sentence for assault causing harm from five years to ten years. The Minister welcomes the recent approval of this proposal on the Committee Stage debate on the Bill. These provisions are subject to ongoing review and the Government will not hesitate in taking further appropriate actions to protect gardaí and other emergency service workers.

The Senator will be aware that the Department of Justice recently published the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022 which will provide for the first time a legal basis for the deployment and use of body-worn cameras by members of An Garda Síochána. Body-worn cameras will support front-line capability by accurately recording incidents, like the serious incident that occurred this week at Ballyfermot. The ultimate deployment of these devices, including related timelines, will be an operational matter for the Garda Commissioner, however, I am advised that the Commissioner intends to pilot the use of body worn cameras, prior to nationwide roll-out.

Ollie Crowe (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for his detailed response. Maximum sentences are fine but what we need minimum sentences also. All I can talk about is Galway city. What is frustrating people in Galway city and county is the large percentage of cases where someone found guilty serves no time at all. Even though they have been found guilty, they are walking out the door and that is outraging people. It is outraging families across the city and across the county. Maximum sentences do not really matter if they are not being handed down and that rarely seems to happen. If we had minimum sentences, the people who carry out these atrocious crimes could not walk out of court without serving time.

James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I again thank the Senator for raising this very important matter in the House today. He will appreciate that the Judiciary is independent in the matter of sentencing subject only to the Constitution and the law. An important safeguard rests in the power of the Director of Public Prosecutions to apply to the Court of Appeal to review any sentence which she feels is unduly lenient. However, it is a matter for the Government and the Oireachtas to propose and enact legislation setting out maximum sentences which a court may impose for a particular crime. In a number of cases the Oireachtas has prescribed a presumptive minimum sentence for certain serious offences.

This is currently being reviewed under a requirement contained in the Judicial Council Act 2019. In imposing a sentence, a court is required to impose a sentence which is proportionate not only to the crime but also to the offender based on the facts of each individual case. As provided for in the Judicial Council Act, a new sentencing guidelines committee has been established by the Judicial Council and includes a number of lay members. The committee is responsible for compiling sentencing guidelines with a view to establishing parameters and norms to help give a judge guidance while sentencing. Practically the courts are also required to hear from victims in certain cases where they wish to make a victim impact statement.