Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

——would be well advised to take note of the Taoiseach's confirmation, which I welcome.

While the referendum tightened the bail conditions in some respects, judges must still draw on a mixture of legislation and precedent when granting bail. It would be appropriate that a new bail Bill setting out all those conditions comprehensively should be introduced by the House.

Does the Taoiseach agree we should have a fast-tracking system by the Director of Public Prosecutions to the Court of Criminal Appeal, which would be a necessary addition to the legislative portfolio to deal with issues of release on bail given that the Taoiseach agrees with me that it is of concern that 11,000 serious crimes were committed in two years by persons released on bail? If this continues, almost 500,000 headline crimes will have been committed on the watch of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Will the Taoiseach comment on a fast-tracking system to the DPP and a new bail Bill making crystal clear the conditions which judges should apply so that they do not need to rely on a mixture of legislation and precedent as applies at the moment?

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