Fears victims of crime will lose out

An umbrella group of victims’ organisations has warned Ireland is to breach this November’s deadline for full implementation of an EU directive on the rights of victims of crime.

The Victims’ Rights Alliance said the Government had failed to publish draft legislation on the issue and that “little progress” had been made to provide training within the State’s police, prosecution, and courts structures.

The comments come just days after Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald told the Fine Gael convention the Government was “putting the victim at the heart of the justice system”.