Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I will be sharing time with Deputies Lawless, Michael Moynihan and Breathnach.

I will outline the context for saying we need to strengthen our bail laws. We can only understand the need for strengthening our bail laws by looking at recorded crime statistics. It is appropriate that this debate commences on the day when the Central Statistics Office published its statistics for recorded crime in the first quarter of 2018. The recorded crime statistics published by the CSO today indicate an increase of 15.9% in the number of fraud, deception and related offences in the year to the end of quarter 1 in 2018, compared with the same period to the end of quarter 1 in 2017. Similarly in respect of robbery and extortion, there was an increase of 15.9%.

The recorded crime incidents, classified by offence group and annualised to the end of quarter 1 of 2017 and 2018, show an increase of 388 incidents in the area of sexual offences or 14.7%, which is particularly worrying. The detailed statistics in quarter 1 of 2018 in respect of sexual offences show 181 rape offences for the first quarter of this year. The CSO statistics for the fourth quarter of 2017 showed a significant increase between quarter 4 of 2016 and quarter 4 of 2017. The last time the statistics were published they showed a 28% increase in the number of rapes recorded at that particular time.

I refer to those statistics because it is important to recognise that the debate on bail does not take place in any abstract context. We know the rate of crime carried out by individuals on bail has been growing steadily in recent years. It rose from 9% of all crimes in 2011 to 13% of crimes in 2016.

In the latter year, almost 26,000 crimes, including 6,214 thefts and 1,377 burglaries, were committed by individuals who had been released from custody while awaiting trial for separate offences. In 2016, individuals on bail were also charged with 24 rapes and sexual assaults. These are significant statistics and they show that serious crime is rising in certain areas. I refer, in particular, to sexual offences, burglaries and aggravated burglaries. As a result of a statistical analysis, we are also aware that many of those crimes were committed by individuals who were out on bail. The purpose of the legislation is to try to strengthen our laws in respect of bail so that it will be more difficult for individuals who have already been convicted of serious criminal offences to be granted bail for subsequent criminal offences for which they are charged. The Bill seeks to change, from a discretionary requirement to a mandatory requirement, the obligation on a court to refuse bail where it is satisfied that such a refusal is reasonably considered necessary to prevent the commission of serious offences by the person involved. That is an appropriate response.

When one looks at the next section, one will see that the court still has limited discretion in this area. If one is convicted of a serious criminal offence and subsequently charged in respect of another serious criminal offence, the presumption should be that one will not be granted bail. Alternatively, we should seek to avail of the provisions that were introduced into the Criminal Justice Act 2007. Sometimes it is forgotten that the Oireachtas, by means of section 11 of that Act, introduced electronic monitoring of certain persons granted bail. The section has not been commenced yet. I do not know the reason for that. We need to do something to change this to strengthen the laws to provide greater protection to people who are victims of crime.

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