The Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan has said that a recent appeal of a rape case which took almost two years to complete was, in his view, too long.
Ciara Mangan was raped by Shane Noonan, 30, of Turlough Road in Castlebar, Co Mayo, at a party in May 2013.
He pleaded guilty shortly before his trial was due to start in 2023 and was sentenced to eight years with the final year suspended.
The Appeal Court upheld the sentence on Monday.
Ms Mangan said the appeal had hung over her for 22 months and it was only now she felt she had got justice.
She said the justice system had allowed Noonan to exert control over her for all that time and described the system as "inhumane".
She said it was only now that she could be sure of the exact date her attacker would be released.
Speaking to reporters today, the Justice Minister said he saluted Ms Mangan's fortitude and advocacy.
"Her specific complaint appeared to be the fact that the appeal process took approximately two years," Mr O'Callaghan said.
"In my view, that is too long.
"But I have to say, my knowledge of the Court of Appeal is that it is one of the courts that is working extremely well and extremely fast, and it is usually the case, I think, at the Court of Appeal that criminal appeals can come on quicker than was the case in Ciara's case."
"The Government will resource the courts as much as possible to ensure that justice is done in a prompt manner because, as Ciara recognised, justice delayed has a significant impact on victims," he added.
Prosecuting Counsel says guilty plea came late
Ms Mangan has set up an organisation to support survivors of sexual violence called beyondsurviving.ie and was accompanied to court by two fellow survivors, Sarah Grace and Paula Doyle.
Lawyers for Noonan had argued that more consideration should have been given to the mitigating factors.
Senior Counsel Damien Colgan argued that more of the sentence could have been suspended.
But Prosecuting Counsel Anne Marie Lawlor, said this was the "predatory, violent rape of an 18-year-old".
She said the guilty plea came very late and the sentence was wholly within the discretion of the court.
Ms Lawlor suggested the sentence could in fact have been longer.
The Appeal Court found there was no error in principle in the trial judge's original sentence.
The original sentence hearing heard that Ms Mangan became suddenly unwell after being handed an open can of cider at a party on 11 May 2013.
She said Noonan then made a bee line for her, guided her upstairs and raped her in a bathroom.
She was described as being in a vulnerable position, slipping in and out of consciousness.
The court also heard Ms Mangan had been subjected to "rape comments" and "rape song" by colleagues in the restaurant in the aftermath.
She did not tell her parents until her younger sister was about to start work in the same restaurant.
Noonan had no previous convictions and has not come to garda attention for anything else.
