Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent)
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618. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality if he will consider amending the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 to ensure that persons found to be in possession of child pornography, irrespective of offence gravity or other circumstances, will be liable to a mandatory custodial sentence; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57385/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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The production, distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material are appalling crimes which create ongoing layers of trauma for survivors, including knowing that the abuse material has been or could be shared and viewed by offenders around the world

Government is committed to combatting all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence. This includes both supporting those who are victims of these terrible crimes and having in place the most appropriate legislative provisions so as to hold perpetrators to account.

There are a range of offences under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 to address all forms of such abuse. The act provides for severe penalties, including, for the most serious offences, maximum penalties of up to life imprisonment.

As the Deputy will be aware, the standard approach with regard to sentencing provisions in criminal legislation is for the Oireachtas to specify the criminal offence concerned and the maximum penalty that may be imposed on persons found guilty of the offence.

It is then a matter for the sentencing Judge to consider the penalty that should be administered in individual cases, having regard to all of the facts and circumstances involved.

The court is required to impose a sentence which is proportionate not only to the crime but also to the individual offender; in that process, identifying where on the sentencing range the particular case should lie and then applying any mitigating factors which may be present. This is consistent with Article 34 of the Constitution, which provides for the administration of justice by the Courts.

In 2020, the Judicial Council established a Sentencing Guidelines and Information Committee. The Committee’s functions include the preparation of draft sentencing guidelines and the monitoring of the operation of those guidelines, together with the collation of information on sentences imposed by the courts and the dissemination of that information to judges and others.

In 2023, the Committee published its Guideline Development Procedure and it has since produced a report on sentencing in relation to offences captured by Section 40 of the Domestic Violence Act 2018.

In line with the Programme for Government, I intend to review the sentencing guidelines legislation. However, there are no current plans to introduce additional minimum custodial sentences for any category of offence.