Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

It is well and good that the Minister has rehearsed the reply he gave on Question No. 465 of 31 January, in which he stated, "It would not be appropriate for me to comment on the circumstances in which bail may have been granted or, indeed, refused in particular cases." However, on 14 December 2006, he stated:

Regarding Operation Oak, 24 associates of Mr. Martin Hyland have been arrested and 23 have been granted bail. I have stated on a number of occasions that I regard this as very deeply unsatisfactory and have been criticised for doing so because it has been seen as disparaging of the Judiciary ... It is not acceptable that 23 out of 24 serious drug criminals are at liberty after being granted bail ... gardaí testify in the cases and oppose bail, yet they constantly find people who have been charged with serious offences are granted bail. I strongly contend that the practice is wrong and must be addressed.

The Minister cannot have it both ways. He often opposes the leaking of information while leaking it himself. He cannot say it is wrong for him to comment on individual cases only to do so when it suits him. He told the House that the associates of Mr. Hyland, all of whom were identifiable, had been arrested, yet he cannot provide specific information when I asked him whether the Garda objected to bail in the cases to which he referred on 14 December 2006. Was he making it up?

The Minister repeatedly says he is not disparaging judges but that is not how the media and the public view the matter. In one example of many, The Irish Times of 16 December 2006 reported that the Minister "publicly rebuked judges over the high rates of bail being granted in the face of Garda opposition". He went on a crusade by citing particular evidence but now says he cannot give the evidence to substantiate his claims.

I agree that bail laws must be updated and, if judges are not implementing the law, we have the responsibility in this House to bring changes. However, while I welcome the promise to bring such changes, if we are going to be consistent and fair to every branch of this country's public administration, the Minister must substantiate the charges he makes.

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