Press Release: Justice 13 March 2007

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Green Party slams McDowell's rushed criminal justice package

"The Minister is proposing to alter some of the most fundamental tenants of our criminal justice system"

The Green Party has condemned the move by the Minister for Justice Michael McDowell to rush the Criminal Justice Bill 2007 through the Dáil in a matter of days.

Green Party Justice spokesperson Ciarán Cuffe TD said: "This is another example of the Minister steam-rolling a complicated and controversial legislative package through the houses of the Oireachtas without allowing adequate time for debate.

"The Criminal Justice Bill is an extremely complex and lengthy piece of legislation, with far-reaching consequences if passed. The Bill is over 130 pages long and requires a considerable amount of time for adequate scrutiny of all the provisions. The Minister is proposing to alter some of the most fundamental tenants of our criminal justice system such as the presumption of innocence, the right to silence and a curtailment of the discretion of the judiciary in sentencing.

"The Criminal Justice Act, 2006 was only brought into law in July 2006. This Act represented a major overhaul of the Irish criminal justice system including areas such as the investigation of offences, the admissibility of statements, appeals, firearms offences, explosives offences and organised crime to name but a few. It is far too early to assess whether or not this legislation has been effective or not.

"The timing of this Bill is highly suspect. The Minister has had years to introduce such legislation yet he waits until the final weeks before the general election. This is nothing more than a last ditch effort on Minister McDowell's part to convince the general public that he can bring crime in Ireland under control."