David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Daly for proposing the amendment. She has put a lot of thought into it. I appreciate the aim of the proposal but I am concerned it may have unintended consequences. We may have to tease it out a bit more.

The amendment would replace the requirement in section 6(1)(b) of the Bail Act that bail conditions be considered "appropriate" with a requirement they be considered "necessary and proportionate". There is already a well-established principle that any restriction of a person's constitutional rights must be proportionate to the objective and impair those rights as little as possible. That is a constitutional provision. On one reading, it may be argued that the amendment is unnecessary as the current provision already meets the objective.

The Deputy has proposed the amendment with a view to limiting the conditions which may be imposed. It is possible that the inclusion of the word "necessary" would have this effect in some circumstances. It is important to consider carefully the implications of this. It may have the effect of preventing the imposition of the new condition in section 3 of the Bill restricting contact between the accused and the victim or his or her family. Therefore, while I do not have a difficulty with the Deputy's objective in this amendment, the effect of the change in wording requires further consideration to determine its precise implications. For that reason, I cannot accept the Deputy's amendment at this time.

We will be prepared to look at it on Report Stage but it requires further consideration. There may be unintended consequences which could cause more harm than good.