The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr O'Donoghue, is to amend the Criminal Justice Bill so as to abolish the "year and a day" rule. The rule is to the effect that, for the purpose of offences involving death, an act is conclusively presumed not to have caused a person's death if more than a year and a day has elapsed before a person dies. Mr O'Donoghue said the rule was anachronistic.