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

I thank the Deputy for tabling these amendments and for the work and thinking she has put into them. As she outlined, the purpose of amendments Nos. 9 and 10 is to require that the reasons given by a court for granting or refusing bail and for imposing any bail conditions under section 6 be in writing. I understand the Deputy’s reasons for wanting to include such a requirement. She has outlined them. The purpose of section 6 is to improve the information provided by the courts in bail hearings. However, the effect would be to require that a written decision be given in respect of all bail hearings. As the Deputy is no doubt aware, most bail hearings take place in the District Court. Written decisions are not the norm in the District Court and the volume of work involved in implementing the Deputy's proposal could be considerable. It would have cost implications and, more importantly, could entail delays in the processing of cases before the court. It is also worth noting that all District Court proceedings are recorded on the digital audio recording system so in circumstances where clarification of the reasons given is required or is in dispute, the record of proceedings will be there. At the very minimum, consultation with the Courts Service of Ireland and the Judiciary would be required to identify any issues and to assess the cost and other implications before such a proposal could be included in the Bill. For these reasons, I cannot accept the amendments at this time.