Planned changes on sentencing of children for serious crimes aimed at ‘maximising’ options available to judges

Planned changes to the law on the sentencing of children for serious crimes are aimed at “maximising” the alternative sentencing options available to a judge, Minister for Justice Simon Harris has told the Dáil.

The issue emerged in court proceedings last week where Mr Justice Tony Hunt said there was a “yawning gap” in legislation which caused him to adjourn the sentencing a 17-year-old boy convicted of the 2021 murder of Urantsetseg Tserendorj.

The 48-year-old Mongolian national was stabbed as she was walking through the Irish Financial Services Centre in Dublin 1 while making her way home from work.

The sentencing was adjourned after the judge said it is time for legislative intervention or a definitive ruling on the law covering the sentencing of children convicted of serious offences.

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Mr Justice Hunt said the Children Act, 2001 does not fulfil the role of a coherent and comprehensive framework in that it fails to deal with young offenders such as the accused in this case. He identified what he called a “yawning gap” in the legislation which he said “cries out for reform”. He said this “should be attended to because it is merited on its own terms and, if not, it will thrust litigation upon the State”.

Mr Harris has previously promised any necessary changes to laws governing the sentencing of children for serious crimes will be brought forward.

His spokesman last week said Mr Harris expressed his condolences and said he is “aware of the delay in sentencing in this case and appreciates the distress to the family caused by any delays”.

Speaking in the Dáil on Thursday, the Fine Gael TD asked if it is intended to expand the penalties available in the courts in sentencing children convicted of serious offences and whether legislation is planned.

Mr Harris said: “I am examining the issue raised in a recent court case very carefully and Government approval has been provided for the drafting of heads of Bill to provide for an amendment to the Children Act, 2001, to ensure there are sufficient alternative sentencing options to fully and partially suspended sentences.”

He said legislation is being prepared and “the amendments are intended to maximise the alternative sentencing options available in the 2001 Act and to remove existing barriers to their use”.

He also said: “The proposed legislative amendments will provide for deferred sentence supervision orders also.”

[ Teenager’s murder conviction exposes failure of legislation to grant essential powers to courts ]

In court proceedings last week, Mr Justice Hunt has said his preference was to impose a sentence of detention for life on the defendant with a review after 13 years.

However, he said there are concerns regarding what can and cannot be done by judges when a person sentenced as a juvenile comes before them for review.

There is no provision for suspended sentences, he said, and no way for the court to impose conditions on the defendant if he is released following a sentence review.

“That is a very unsatisfactory position for any review to be ordered in 13 years if that is the position then. It is one that is unfair to [the defendant] and to society.”

Michael O’Higgins SC, for the defendant, asked the court to adjourn sentencing to await a response from the Oireachtas. However, he also pointed out that there is urgency in the case as his client is approaching his 18th birthday, after which he would be treated as an adult. The mandatory sentence for murder for an adult is life imprisonment.

The accused, who was 14 at the time of the offence and cannot be named because he is a minor, had denied the murder of Ms Tserendorj but had pleaded guilty to her manslaughter on January 29th, 2021. He was found guilty of her murder by a jury last year.