Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

It is appropriate that I refer to Europe Day and the participation of Members from all parties in the structured debate tomorrow. However, I wish to ask the Taoiseach about another matter. He will be aware that over the past two years 11,000 serious crimes have been committed by people on bail, including 43 homicides, 500 assaults, 750 serious drug offences and thousands of thefts and burglaries. That amounts to more than 100 serious crimes a week committed by people who could and should be behind bars.

I suppose the Taoiseach was not glued to his television set over the weekend, but that was obviously the case with some from the other element of the Government. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, was out of the traps faster than Carl Lewis ever managed. In that regard I wish to ask the Taoiseach about persons committing serious crimes while on bail. The Fine Gael Party proposed at the weekend that, given the trend of 11,000 serious crimes having been committed, the courts should be authorised to tag electronically persons on bail so that their movements might be tracked full-time.

On Friday, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform stated that I had also referred to the electronic tagging of people as a condition of bail, something that, he contended, I well knew was already provided for in the Criminal Justice Bill now before the Dáil. The trouble is that it is not in the Bill before the Dáil. The Minister's Bill contains a provision to tag electronically people who have been convicted, which is what Deputy Jim O'Keeffe proposed last year. Is the Government putting a provision into the Bill giving the courts authorisation, if the judge deems necessary, to electronically tag persons being granted bail? Will the Taoiseach confirm that this provision is not contained in the Bill before the Dáil, contrary to what the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform said on Friday?

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