Victims of crime to be given 'fundamental right' to access information

There's been a broad welcome for measures contained in the Victims of Crime Bill.

The Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald today published the heads of the bill.

It gives victims the right to access information about the status of their case as it goes through the legal system.

Victims must be informed if a case is being dropped, or if a perpetrator's been released from jail.

Joan Dean is a spokesperson for the Advic group, representing families of murder victims: “If you have lost a loved one through murder, and there are no charges being brought and you have no explanation as to why this is so, it leaves you with a very serious sense of injustice.

“It is a very fundamental right that will be given now.”