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

There are certain restraints under the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights. The fact that someone has previously abused his or her position while on bail, as I understand it, cannot under our constitutional system and the European Court of Human Rights lead a court automatically to the conclusion that he or she should be automatically denied bail if charged at a later stage because it is assumed he or she would again offend while on bail. We are examining the bail laws with a view to deciding what we can do within the constitutional parameters and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights to ensure those who offend while on bail are not given an incentive at a later stage, should they be criminally prosecuted, to commit a series of offences on being granted bail a second time. However, there are constitutional and human rights constraints in these areas and there is a narrow dividing line along which we can operate. I hope we will be able to address some of these issues in a satisfactory way when the new Bill is published.

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