Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am not questioning the Garda. What is happening with the bail laws is frustrating for the force. I do not doubt the Government's good intentions regarding reform of these laws. However, Government legislative programmes stretching back to when the Taoiseach took office in 2011 contained a commitment on introducing a bail Bill. Such a Bill has never been laid before the House and we are in 2016 without any having been enacted. I hope the current commitments prove more successful.

There is a serious situation with criminals who have zero regard for the law. Something must be done quickly. According to a recent study, almost half of prisoners released from jail in Ireland go on to re-offend within three years, and the majority within one year. In the case of burglary, the rate is even greater at 70%. The guts of 100 crimes are being committed daily by people who are out on bail, obviously having calculated that the penalties for a second offence will be no greater than for the original. They are laughing in the face of our criminal justice system.

Does the Taoiseach not agree that our bail laws have failed people? In the past ten years, people on bail have been responsible for 89 murders, 237 serious sexual offences, 50,000 thefts and more than 18,000 burglaries. Does the Taoiseach agree that the current bail laws have failed the victims of crime?

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