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

With regard to bail, I take the view it is better to release people and electronically tag them than to keep them in custody. It is better for the accused person, the State and the taxpayer who will not need to pay for the expense of keeping them in custody. My problem with electronic tagging generally is that steps have not been taken to implement it. I have no difficulty with the provisions in the Bill. Neither did I have any difficulty with the provisions in the previous Criminal Justice Act in which, with some reluctance, we ended up with a provision for tagging in a post-release system. However, nothing was done in the meantime. It was jaw-jaw but no tagging and we still have no sign of tagging.

I must entirely reject the suggestion that we are venturing into untested waters. Tagging dates back more than 20 years in other countries. It was tried and works successfully in Canada, many EU countries and the UK. They have experience of hundreds of thousands of people released on a tagging basis. It has all the advantages of allowing a person to be released. He or she can continue to work and continue with their social and other relationships and the taxpayer does not need to pay for their custody.

On the question of cost, tagging is a far cheaper option than keeping someone in custody. While I accept the equipment available is not fully developed, the tagging part is fully tested and proved. The GPS tracking system has yet to be fully proved. However, there is no reason we should not go ahead with the tagging system immediately. It works in other countries. Why should it not work here? My complaint is that it has not been put into operation here.

I also reject any suggestion that a tagging system is more expensive than custody. Figures from the UK state it costs £880 per month which is approximately €1300 per month. This amounts to €200 or €300 per week. Consider this as opposed to a cost of a couple of thousand euro per week to keep someone in custody.

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