Like Senator Darragh O'Brien, I wish to be very careful in how I make my point in regard to yesterday's sentencing, being very conscious of the separation of powers. Will the Leader arrange a debate in the House on sentencing policy, to involve the Minister for Justice and Equality, and with a particular focus on how we can maintain and ensure the confidence of all of citizens in sentencing matters? I would be the last person to call for a hang-'em-and-flog-'em approach to criminal justice and realise judges have many factors to take into account when they are considering whether and for how long to suspend sentences and issues in regard to leave to appeal and the granting of bail.

I am very conscious that women in particular take note of sentences such as that which was handed down in the past day or so. I mean no disrespect to the judge, but women wonder when a sentence such as this is passed, whether it is connected with the existence of a largely male Judiciary and whether there is a full understanding in our society of the gravity of offences, particularly the offence of rape. Therefore, it is appropriate that in this House we draw very serious attention to what was decided. We respect the role of the judge and we respect his integrity in the way he does his job, but the fact remains that something very serious and disturbing was decided. I am referring, in particular, to the granting of bail in a case such as this, guilt having been established. I request the Leader to make time available in early course for a debate on this matter.

We are all supporting the Government's initiative on The Gathering, but I do not think the it foresaw the gathering that took place in Merrion Square last Saturday when 25,000 people - representing what Mr. Mickey Harte described as the middle ground of Irish society - expressed their serious concerns specifically about the Government's proposal to legislate for direct abortion on the grounds of suicide threat. It was made very clear at that event that people on the pro-life side of the argument find it deeply offensive when it is suggested that they are not concerned with saving every woman's life. Everybody agrees that women are entitled to all necessary medical interventions. We heard at the recent hearings that took place in this very Chamber that this happens in this country every day, even when it is foreseeable that the child's life will be lost, but to legislate for abortion on the basis of a threat of suicide is to legislate for something for which there is no medical evidence. It is to legislate for the direct targeting of an innocent human life. We should have a debate in this House because, as good as the hearings were, priority was given to members of the health committee. They did a very good job in so far as it goes in ventilating some of the issues, but it was very clear from those hearings that there was no medical basis for abortion on the grounds of threatened suicide.

That is the Senator's opinion.

It is the Senator's opinion.

That is why we need a debate.

I advise Senators who disagree to read the transcript of the health committee meetings. This debate is only beginning, as we saw last Saturday. The Government is beginning to lose the argument. It needs to get back in touch with the middle ground of Irish opinion.

I do not wish to comment on the case that other Senators, including Senator Darragh O'Brien, to which have alluded. In general, however, for less serious crimes than the one we are talking about, the principle of restorative justice needs to be considered. In this country restorative justice has been piloted in two areas - south County Dublin and Nenagh - and it is now being established in north Tipperary. The results have been quite interesting: 63% to 64% of people who participate in a restorative justice programme do not go on to reoffend. The prisons are completely overcrowded. We have seen articles in The Irish Times in the past few days stating that prison is not a solution for all crimes. There are ways in which the victims of crime can engage with the perpetrators, particularly for petty crimes. In some cases, it may be the first time a perpetrator has offended, and engaging in a restorative justice process with the victim of his or her crime may allow the perpetrator to achieve an understanding of the offence and of the stress and trauma his or her actions have caused. I would like to see the roll-out of the pilot programme nationally. I call on the Leader to have a debate this term on restorative justice, because it is a principle developing internationally. There is best practice in places such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada. We face economic challenges and this is a way of providing a cost-effective penal system that respects the dignity of all people.