Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Amending the Criminal Justice Act 1990 was always going to be a very difficult and tenuous thing to do because of what is involved. How we deal with young offenders - especially people who take the life of a person, even if the person taking that life is under 18 years of age - is obviously a very serious thing. The deterrents have to be in place. We have to highlight the fact that taking anybody's life in any circumstances, even when the person is of a young age themselves, cannot be mitigated. We have to ensure that the necessary strong deterrents are there. We obviously have to measure while recognising that when a person is under 18 years old, their decisions and choices can be affected by the prevalence of drugs and all the other influences that are there. We have to look at what has gone wrong with young people and in society. We have seen this recently in programmes that have been aired, which I am sure the Minister has watched and closely tuned into. We need not go to young people or people under 18 to see what is happening. When we see the hatred and bile that is building up in individuals, the way they are willing to unleash that on other people, the things they say and the abuse they hurl, we have to look at what is happening in society. We have to reclaim Ireland for people who just want to work, live their lives, pay their bills and do their best. No one is perfect. I certainly am not perfect. I know very few people who are perfect. We try to do our best all the time, but it seems to be creeping into society that people do things they should not be doing.

When it comes to the Judiciary, I have studied restorative justice, which now seems to be coming into play, very closely. To be honest, I have limited time for it because I see it as a cop-out for the Judiciary to engage in restorative justice rather than doing this or that with a sentence or judgment.

It is a sort of "off out with you there and sort it out yourselves" type of thing. If people were able to sort it out themselves, they would not have to go to the services of the courts in the first instance.

This whole issue is tricky. One thing that is of vital importance, as Deputy McGrath touched on, is the protection of our gardaí. The prospect of gardaí being injured or fatally injured in the line of duty is something that is very serious. We know what the penalty for that was at one time in this country. We have to be very careful to ensure the necessary penalties will always be there to protect not just the gardaí but every person in the State, while also being mindful of how we deal with young offenders in the future. I have an open mind. I appreciate very much that dealing with this whole subject is tricky.

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