Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 493: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the Programme for Government to establish a judicial sentencing commission under the auspices of the Courts Service. [19321/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Agreed Programme for Government contains a commitment to establish a Judicial Sentencing Commission. This matter is being considered in the context of the Judicial Council Bill under preparation. I stress, however, the independence, within the law, of the Judiciary and each member of the Judiciary in the matter of sentencing, as in other matters concerning the exercise of the judicial function. In considering this matter, my Department is guided by the ongoing work of the steering committee established by the Courts Service Board to plan for and provide information on sentencing. The committee, under the chair of Mrs. Justice Susan Denham of the Supreme Court, comprises a judge from the High, Circuit and District Courts and a university law lecturer with expertise in sentencing law.

The project, known as the Irish Sentencing Information System, involves an examination of the feasibility of providing a computerised information system on sentences and other penalties imposed for criminal offences. This will assist judges when considering the sentence to be imposed in an individual case. The objective of a sentencing information system is to enable a judge, by entering relevant criteria, to access information about the range of sentences and other penalties imposed for particular types of offence in previous cases. The Committee established a pilot project in June 2006 in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. A further pilot commenced in Cork Circuit Court in April 2008. An appropriate IT system has been developed incorporating a database where the information collected is electronically stored for subsequent retrieval and searching.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 494: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the progress made in regard to the commitment given in the Programme for Government to introduce a formal review process on an annual basis, to assess the effect of the stringent new mandatory sentence regime for drug crime introduced in the Criminal Justice Act 2007. [19322/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Section 27 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, as amended by the Criminal Justice Acts 1999 and 2006, provides for mandatory minimum sentence of not less than 10 years of imprisonment for individuals convicted of a first offence under section 15A — possession of drugs with a value of at least €13,000 for sale or supply — or 15B — importation of drugs with a value of at least €13,000 — of that Act. The mandatory minimum sentence, or to give it its more correct name, presumptive minimum sentence, is to be imposed in all cases save for those with very specific and exceptional mitigating factors. Where an individual is convicted of a second or subsequent office under sections 15A and/or 15B a court has no discretion and must always impose a sentence of not less than the mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. The maximum sentence available for section 15A and 15B offences is life imprisonment.

Having regard to concern about the degree to which the presumptive minimum sentence was being imposed, notwithstanding the amendments introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2006, section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 further amended section 27 of the 1977 Act to insert an interpretation clause. The clause emphasises that a decision to depart from the presumptive minimum sentence must be based on the presence of individual and extraordinary reasons as to why the interest of justice would not be served by imposition of a sentence of not less than 10 years. Referring to the damaging effects of drug related crime on Irish society the clause states that a court must, as a general principle, always impose the mandatory minimum sentence on persons convicted of an offence under sections 15A and 15B.

The Agreed Programme for Government includes a commitment to conduct a formal annual review of the effect of these provisions concerning the mandatory sentence regime for drug crime which were introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2007. As the provisions in question which are contained in Section 33 of the Act were commenced with effect from 18 May 2007, they have only been in operation for just approximately one year to date. Therefore, the issue of establishing a formal review mechanism will be addressed at the appropriate stage.