More judges is the answer

AS rape is among the most heinous of crimes, any legal initiative likely to be perceived as undermining the gravity of such an offence should not be considered lightly, if at all.

That fundamental point should be uppermost in the mind of Justice Minister Michael McDowell as he contemplates a proposal aimed at removing rape cases from the exclusive jurisdiction of the Central Criminal Court in order to allow them to be dealt with on a local basis.

It is precisely because the State deems rape to be second only to murder in terms of gravity as a criminal offence that such cases can only be heard in the Central Criminal Court, which sits in Dublin. At present, the Circuit Court cannot hear rape or murder cases.