CRIME CRACKDOWN | 

Simon Harris wants serious offenders to face 20 years in jail with no parole

The news comes amid increasing uncertainty over Helen McEntee’s future at the Department of Justice.

Simon Harris: “No part of Ireland will be lawless” as he vows to support gardaí as anti-immigration protests increase

Philip Ryan

Yesterday at 14:30

New Fine Gael leader Simon Harris is planning to fast-track a series of justice policies as part of his pledge to focus on law and order issues when he is elected taoiseach.

Mr Harris wants to bring forward plans to introduce minimum sentencing for serious crimes which could see criminals jailed for at least 20 years for some offences, without being considered for parole.

He is expected to outline his plans for the Department of Justice at next weekend’s Fine Gael ard fheis in Galway.

Central to his strategy will be to give more financial supports to gardaí and expedite the introduction of body cameras for members of the force.

He also plans to bring forward legislation which will see increased penalties for knife crimes.

However, his main focus will be on introducing so-called minimum tariffs on life sentences, which will mean any person convicted of murder will be required to serve a significant amount of time in prison before they are even considered for parole.