Seanad report:A change in the law might be made to provide for the retrial of persons acquitted of serious offences, the Minister for Justice, Equality, and Law Reform, Michael McDowell, indicated.
Speaking in the debate on the Criminal Justice Bill 2004, the Minister said that when the proposed legislation had been going through the Dáil, Labour justice spokesman Brendan Howlin had made the point that if someone was acquitted of offences such as murder, rape or kidnapping and it later became absolutely clear that there was a compelling case that they were guilty, there should be, as there was in England, a right to reopen the whole case again.
Mr McDowell said he thought there was something to be said for Mr Howlin's argument, and he would have to consider it.
Responding to an intervention by House leader Mary O'Rourke, he agreed the evidence for the reopening of such cases would have to be compelling.
Mr McDowell pointed out that the 10-year mandatory minimum jail sentence would apply under the Bill to two new offences relating to the importation and the supply of drugs.
It was not a matter of there being a spat between the legislature and the judiciary on the mandatory sentence issue, he said. But legislators had given their considered view that those found in possession of huge quantities of drugs must face very severe penalties.
"That is the law. We live in a democracy and there isn't any room for, I think, judging the intent of the legislature in this matter, other than they accept this to be the norm in that kind of case."
The rate of imposition of the 10-year sentence under existing law had risen from just 4 per cent of cases to around 20 per cent.
However, he did not think it could be said that specific and exceptional circumstances existed in 80 per cent of cases.
"I earnestly implore all those who exercise the power of the Irish State under the Constitution to carefully consider what has happened in these Houses and how they look at the pattern of enforcement or non-enforcement of the minimum 10-year sentence. We should say, are we living in a democracy? Is this a republican democracy? Is it the case that legislators are acting in an irresponsible or tabloid way which is undermining the rights of accused persons, or is it the case that legislators rub shoulders every day with people who are victims of crime, that the legislators see in every community the degradation of humanity that drugs are causing, that they want a response and that it is wrong to say to somebody who is caught with a million euro worth of heroin that he or she can get away with a three- or four-year sentence?
"That is the equivalent of nonpunishment of people for very serious offences. The money involved is so big and the drug supply networks are so strong that penalties of that kind are derisory in the face of the huge problems that exist."
The Bill passed second stage.
There was a lack of transparency about how CIÉ was using its subsidy or whether it was using it to drive some private operators off some routes, Tom Morrissey (PD) said.
"There is evidence of private bus operators being brought from one part of the country by CIÉ to work against other operators, getting €400 per trip with two or three passengers on board. It does not make economic sense."