Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)

——or was it genuinely to put in place a system that will be operative under the orders of the court? The Minister has accepted that pressure has been exerted very much by me and the Fine Gael Party on this issue to provide for the necessary statutory underpinning, but apparently he has done nothing to implement it.

I do not intend to go over the ground of outlining the benefits of electronic tagging but responding to this issue, as someone possibly more committed to it than the Minister is, to some of the comments made by Deputy Ó Snodaigh, I am talking about an alternative to custody. We can give judges power to release a person on bail with a reasonable assurance that he or she will be tracked to ensure that he or she will not commit further crimes while awaiting trail. It also has other significant benefits, which have been manifested in other countries. This system has allowed a person to sustain his or her employment, rather than be detained in custody. I saw a person, who was released in the UK and electronically tagged, play a first division soccer match. It was highlighted in the media. He was able to continue doing his job. The system also results in huge savings for the taxpayer. Deputy Howlin mentioned that it costs €2,000 a week, on average, to keep a person in prison. This system releases custodial places which are in short supply and relieves pressure on the custodial system. Therefore, it has advantages from the point of view of post-release programmes and bail.

I believe I am wasting my breath in trying to convince the Minister to include such a provision in legislation when, apparently, he has not raised a finger to make sure that it will operate. What kind of an approach is that? I find it utterly unacceptable. While I am happy to see the legislative provisions in place, I am entirely unhappy about this approach making any contribution towards the fight against crime when the Minister has not raised a finger to implement the provisions, not only those of this Bill but those of the last Criminal Justice Bill enacted into law by the Oireachtas last July.

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