Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 February 2022
339. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Justice her plans to update legislation to increase the maximum possible sentence for crimes such as knife crime, serious assault and grievous bodily harm; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10830/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI condemn the recent incidents that have occurred around the country in the strongest possible terms. My thoughts are with the victims of these attacks.
As the Deputy will appreciate, sentencing is a matter solely within the discretion of the trial judge, having regard to the circumstances of the case and of the accused and subject to any limits as may be prescribed by law for a particular offence. 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.
The Deputy may be aware that the Judicial Council, which was established on 17 December 2019, is an independent body made up of all of the judges in Ireland. The Council constitutes a separate and independent branch of Government. The Council has established a Sentencing Guidelines and Information Committee which includes 5 lay people.
The Committee is focused on:
- promoting consistency in sentences imposed by the courts;
- the impact of sentencing decisions on victims;
- the need to promote public confidence in the criminal justice system;
- the relative effectiveness of them in preventing reoffending.
I understand that the Council has initiated a review of all sentencing guidelines under the Judicial Council Act 2019 and that information relating to this review is available on the Council's website at www.judicialcouncil.ie.
As the Deputy will be aware, there is a comprehensive and robust legal framework in place in Ireland with respect to knife crime, including heavy penalties for breaches of the laws concerned. Indeed, the maximum penalty in the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act 1990 for a conviction for possessing a knife in a public place without good reason or lawful authority was increased from one to five years in an amendment introduced via the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009.
Legislative responses alone will not provide a ready solution and evidence from other jurisdictions indicate that simply adopting harsher penalties will not lead to a reduction in the incidence of these crimes. Our existing five-year sentence for knife possession is longer than in the UK, for example, where a four-year penalty applies. It is important to note that there are no quick-fix solutions, based on international experience, and longer term, evidence-based strategies are needed. The issue of knife crime is currently being examined by a subgroup of the Antisocial Behaviour Forum, which is assessing available evidence to inform both legislation and community safety policies, programmes and practices with regard to the issue. The work of this subgroup is ongoing and is expected to conclude in Q1 2022.
While the specific offences of 'serious assault' and 'grievous bodily harm' are not listed in the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, (1997), the Deputy may wish to note that the Act provides for the following:
- A fine and/or in imprisonment for up to 6 months for persons convicted of assault.
- An unlimited fine and/or imprisonment for up to 5 years for persons convicted of assault causing harm.
- An unlimited fine and/or a period of life imprisonment for persons convicted of causing serious harm.
