Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

There are not what I would describe as daily vacancies in the prisons. The reality is that our prisons are severely overcrowded. It is a matter of great concern to me that such is the case. It is a consequence of appallingly bad planning by the previous Government over a period of 14 years, which has created the anomaly that approximately 15% of those who should be serving prison sentences are currently on temporary release. I agree with the Deputy regarding the circumstances that require the courts to be very cautious in granting bail and trying to avoid, in so far as it is ever possible to do, circumstances in which someone who is granted bail commits a serious crime, be that murder or another offence.

The proposal in the Bill, on which considerable work has been undertaken, provides that the courts must have regard to the nature and seriousness of the danger to any person or the public posed by the release on bail of an accused person and the persistent nature of offending by an applicant for bail. If someone is a continuous offender it is of particular importance that he or she is not given repeated grants of bail that allow him or her to re-offend. I am particularly conscious that there is a problem in this area. There will be guidance for the courts as to the circumstances generally in which bail should be refused for people charged with certain types of serious crime, essentially, offences punishable by 15 years imprisonment or more. Such offences include murder, manslaughter, drug trafficking, organised crime and rape, as well as certain offences in the white collar area to which this should perhaps also apply.

Detailed consideration is being given to the matter and I reiterate that we have to be careful to ensure we that approach it in a manner which does not result in us being in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights. Our primary concern is to ensure that while preserving the principle that people are innocent until they are found guilty, we also protect the general public and potential victims of crime from those who have already been charged with an offence and whose history makes it clear they pose a real and present danger to the public.

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