Campaigners insist victims must be heard

VICTIMS of serious crime must continue to be allowed to reveal in court how they have been affected by their ordeal, campaigners said yesterday.

The Advocates for Victims of Homicide (AdVIC) group spoke out following remarks made by Mr Justice Paul Carney over the Wayne O’Donoghue case and the issue of victim impact statements.

Speaking on Wednesday night in Cork, Mr Justice Carney said the tabloid media’s reporting of Majella Holohan’s “unscripted allegations” in court had frustrated the court’s desire to rehabilitate O’Donoghue.

But Mr Carney said he was unhappy over proposals since the O’Donoghue case to limit what can be said in victim impact statements.

Backing Mr Carney, AdVIC spokeswoman Joan Dean said victims had to have their say in court — as she had done when her own son’s killers were sentenced.

“It was very important for me to be able to give a victim impact statement,” said Ms Dean, of Drogheda, Co Louth.

“It was important for me to look at the people who had killed my son to tell them what they had done. I needed them to hear from me. I had no legal grasp of what it would mean but I needed to do it.”

But the process of how victim impact statements are made should be looked at again to protect the interests of victims, she said on RTÉ Radio yesterday.

“There should be enough legal expertise in a courtroom to deal with any fallout (like in the O’Donoghue case),” she said.

She said AdVIC also wanted to see reform of the criminal justice system, which “is weighed in favour of the accused.

“The victim impact statement is the only voice you might have,” she added.

Following Mr Carney’s speech, Ms Holohan, of Midleton, Co Cork, stood by her comments and insisted that she had been right to raise her concerns over her son’s death.

Mr Carney’s remarks triggered nationwide coverage in newspapers, radio and television with Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny raising the controversy in the Dáil yesterday.

Mr Kenny asked Tánaiste Brian Cowen if the Government was planning any reforms to help the victims of crime be more fully informed about the court process.

But Mr Cowen said: “As I understand it, legislative change is not being advocated in respect of the lecture given (on Tuesday evening by Mr Carney) in Cork.

“The subject of the lecture was the issue of procedures within the court system. Such procedures are, in all circumstances, a matter for the courts.”