New minimum prison terms for life sentences can help ensure that the “sentence matches the crime” for Ireland’s violent criminals, the Justice Minister has said.

The Government today confirmed that Cabinet has approved plans to give judges discretion to recommend minimum periods in prison for people sentenced to life.

The proposed laws would see judges recommending how long a prisoner should serve before they are granted parole.

The recommendations would be non-binding, with the Parole Board retaining the power to make the final decision.

The board would, however, be required to take the judge’s recommendation into account.

On Newstalk Breakfast this morning, Justice Minister Helen McEntee said the change would ensure that the judge who heard the case could have an impact on the final prison sentence served.

“This would allow a judge in particularly heinous cases - so it could be a particularly heinous murder, it could be rape, it could be a serious sexual assault - having heard the evidence [to say that] a person should spend a minimum time in prison before they're considered for parole,” she said.

“So that could be 20 years, it could be 30 years, it could be even more than that.

“So, this is giving that ability and that power to the person who has heard the case.

“This, I suppose, is in line with other changes that I've made in recent times – making sure that we give that ability to the judiciary, to those who are hearing these cases, to be able to make sure that the sentence matches the crime.”

Life sentence

Currently, life sentences are mandatory for anyone convicted of murder or treason.

They can also be handed down for other serious crimes, including rape, attempted murder and assault causing serious harm.

According to the most recent figures, people sentenced to life in prison in Ireland now spend an average of 21 years behind bars.

Parole Board

Asked whether Government considered making the judge’s recommendation binding, Minister McEntee said it is “really important that the Parole Board is still allowed to uphold its work and its duty”.

“The judge hearing [the case] at the time or setting the sentence is obviously hearing all of the facts,” she said.

“The Parole Board, many years later, is looking at what a person has done in the time since.

“Have they shown remorse and how have they lived out their sentence essentially, so I think - and the legal advice as well is - that it is important for the parole board to be able to maintain that discretion.”

She said the Parole Board will be “legally required” to take the judge's wishes into consideration before making its own decision.

You can listen back here: