The Government has said it will introduce a Criminal Justice Bill in the Dail early next month, to give effect to some of the commitments to legal reforms made by the Coalition parties during the general election campaign. A final draft of the Bill proposed by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, was approved by the Cabinet yesterday.
The Government said it would be "a major piece of criminal law reform."
One of the most significant measures is minimum 10-year sentences for people convicted of serious drug-trafficking offences. The courts are also to be given the power to initiate inquiries into the assets of people convicted of drugtrafficking and other serious crimes.
The Bill will provide for gardai to give technical evidence to a court by way of a signed certificate, rather than by attending in person. This would free officers from the delays often associated with a court appearance.
Measures to speed up the trial process are also to be included. One of Fianna Fail's commitments in this area has been abolition of the preliminary examin
ation system, so that at the first hearing of a case it could be referred directly to the appropriate court for trial.
The Government said the proposals would "give urgent effect to a number of commitments contained in the Government programme in the context of the policy of zero tolerance, particularly against drug-pushers and other serious criminals".
The Bill was promised by the Minister last July. However, there is no sign yet that the Government plans to direct the Garda to start enforcing every law with equal vigour, along the lines of the "zero tolerance" approach advocated during the election campaign.