Watchdog wants victims’ rights to be strengthened in bill

Certain victims should be entitled to special Garda measures — such as specially trained interviewers — as a legal right and not at the discretion of the gardaí, the State’s human rights ombudsman has said.

The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission also said the State needed to take measures to deal with the under-reporting of crimes, such as sexual crime and hate crime.

In its submission of the Victims of Crime Bill, which was debated in the Dáil yesterday, the commission said certain categories of victims were “particularly at risk” and requested the State to make legislative reforms to ensure they did not suffer repeat victimisation, intimidation, and retaliation.