Ms Jane Mulcahy:

On the issue of dangerousness, what should be happening in a bail application is that the prosecuting or investigating garda gives evidence from the PULSE system of any previous convictions or charges against the individual in question and a judge determines, on the basis of the evidence provided and possibly some engagement with the accused, whether there is a threat in cases in which the issue is one of dangerousness. If the person has a history of violent offending, that will be at the forefront of the judge's mind in making a decision, particularly in a section 2 bail objection, which relates to the likelihood of further offending. If there is a risk based on prior conduct of serious violent offending, the judges will very much take that into account. On the other hand, under the current law, the seriousness of an offence in and of itself is not a ground for refusing bail. For this reason, one will see people who are charged with murder being granted bail because it cannot be established on the evidence that there is a likelihood that the person will commit a similar type of act again. If the person has a very clean record, the risk may be low or may be met by setting conditions such as requiring a surety or the surrender of a passport. Whatever the risk that is identified, it must be grounded in evidence.

The job of the garda in any bail application is to bring to the court the relevant evidence. A court cannot possibly predict all types of behaviour. Many people will not have committed violent acts and one cannot hold everyone in pre-trial detention on the basis that he or she may, at some point down the road, do something that is out of character. That is the simple fact of the matter.