James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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616. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to examine the case for a review of gaps in legislation handling abuse outlined in correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [65194/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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I fully understand that sibling sexual abuse is a highly damaging crime.

Through the implementation of 'Supporting a Victim’s Journey', the Government and I remain committed to ongoing reform aimed at reducing the re-traumatisation of victims and ensuring that every step of the legal process - from reporting to trial - reflects a victim-centred and trauma-aware approach.

There is a comprehensive legal framework in place to address the issue of sexual abuse and exploitation of vulnerable persons.

The Punishment of Incest Act, which was updated in 2019, criminalises sexual intercourse between family members, including half-brothers and half-sisters. More broadly, sexual acts with children are a criminal offence under the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006.

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act enacted in 2017, is a wide-ranging piece of legislation, which significantly enhanced the laws combatting the sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children.

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2019 made further amendments to the 2017 Act to provide for specified minimum penalties for repeat sexual offenders. This applies where a person is convicted on indictment of a sexual offence and sentenced to five years or more in prison. If that person commits a subsequent sexual offence within 10 years of their first conviction, the court must impose a minimum jail term of not less than three quarters of the maximum term for the sexual offence in question.

If the maximum term is life imprisonment, then the term imposed must be a minimum of 10 years. This can be disregarded where the court feels it would be disproportionate in all the circumstances of the case; it also does not apply to child offenders.

The Sex Offenders (Amendment) Act 2023 strengthened our already robust system for monitoring sex offenders on release from prison and provides for changes to the notification requirements for sex offenders.

While there are currently no plans to create a specific statutory offence, all legislation is kept under continual review, to ensure it addresses emerging issues and aligns with constitutional requirements.

In relation to the sentencing proposals raised, sentencing and mitigation is a matter for the individual Judge in a particular case. The Judicial Council was established in 2019, pursuant to the Judicial Council Act 2019, to promote judicial independence as well as to ensure public confidence in the administration of justice. The Council is an independent body whose members are all judges in Ireland.

Under the Judicial Council Act, a Sentencing Guidelines and Information Committee was established in 2020. Its 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 Judicial Council Sentencing Committee published its Guideline Development Procedure, which can be accessed on the Council's website. This document, informed by the legislative framework and best practice in other jurisdictions, sets out the procedure that the Committee will follow in developing sentencing guidelines.

The Programme for Government 2025 - Securing Ireland's Future has a commitment to "provide a new power to the Minister to ask the Judicial Council to draw up sentencing guidelines for a particular crime area within a certain timeframe". In July, the Government approved the drafting of a General Scheme to amend the Judicial Council Act 2019. A General Scheme is currently being drafted which will, among other matters, seek to provide for the Programme for Government commitment.