The Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, has said he will take on board the views of the Irish Human Rights Commission on the new Criminal Justice Bill.
The commission expressed concern over four areas of the bill. It said there were issues in the areas of the right to silence, seven-day detention of suspects, changes to the law on sentencing and changes to bail laws.
IHRC President Maurice Manning said he was concerned that adeaquate time was not being afforded to properly consider matters of significant importance to the protection of human rights.
However, Mr McDowell said human rights must be extended to the victims of crime as well as criminals.
He said Ireland was out of step on the criminal justice issue and that An Garda Síochána had a tough job fighting gang-related crime.
He said they must have a law which is modern and fit for purpose.
The minister said that there would continue to be a right to silence under the Bill, but that there is no right universally recognised that if you exercise the right to silence, no adverse inference can be drawn from that in certain circumstances.
