Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The drafting of the general scheme of a bail Bill to modernise the law on bail is at an advanced stage in my Department. I intend to bring proposals to Government on the matter in the first half of this year, if possible, having regard to other legislative priorities. It has unfortunately not been possible to progress this legislation as quickly as I had hoped due to other legislative imperatives.

A decision to grant bail in a particular case is a matter for the courts which are, subject only to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions. There is a constitutional presumption in favour of bail because in the eyes of the law a person is innocent until proven guilty. The provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights also restrict the extent to which the right to bail can be limited. Of particular importance is section 2 of the Bail Act 1997, which gave effect to the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution and provides for the refusal of bail to a person charged with a serious offence where it is reasonably considered necessary to prevent the commission of a serious offence by that person. In exercising its jurisdiction under section 2 of the Act, a court is required to take into account any conviction of the accused person for an offence committed while he or she was on bail. In addition, section 6 of the Act provides that every bail recognisance is subject to the condition that the accused person shall not commit an offence while on bail.

I am conscious of public concern about the extent to which offences are committed by persons on bail. I share that concern and believe that bail law must be continually reviewed to ensure that all possible avenues are taken to protect the public against the commission of crime, particularly serious crime, by persons on bail. While the primary aim of the proposed bail Bill is to consolidate and update bail law, I am taking the opportunity in this legislation to seek, as far as is possible within the constraints of the Constitution and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, to restructure the law so that it has a focus on the protection of the individual and of the public. The intention is that the new proposals will provide better guidance to the courts on how such protection might be provided.

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