Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to speak this evening on this legislation. As we have heard, the objective of the Bill is to allow persons who have been accused of an offence in Ireland and released on bail subject to supervision measures to be monitored in their country of ordinary residence. That seems simple enough. It also sets out the procedure for a person to be monitored in Ireland where they have been released on bail abroad. This Bill does not deal with supervision following conviction, however. The Bill is similar to the Criminal Justice (Mutual Recognition of Probation Judgments and Decisions) Act 2019, which I spoke on previously, in that both deal with national and international jurisdiction issues.

The Oireachtas Library and Research Service, which I thank, has noted that the Bill before us would allow Ireland to supervise bail conditions set by another member state on a person who ordinarily resides in Ireland but has been accused of a crime in that other member state and is awaiting trial. Currently, a person may only request to be returned to Ireland after sentencing. Before I go any further, I commend Ms Lianne M. Reddy, parliamentary researcher, who put together such a comprehensive overview of the Bill and the implications it will have for us. As I understand it, research has indicated that non-citizens are often subject to pretrial detention in circumstances where citizens would not be because they can be deemed a flight risk. This can be problematic where a person has spent a substantial amount of time in prison only to be subsequently found not guilty. That premise must always be upheld, as far as I am concerned. Of course, that is something we want to mitigate wherever possible. It is not always possible in these cases, however, and that is very unfair.

In fact, when the Minister spoke about the Bill in July, he noted that the proposals in this Bill revolve around protecting the presumption of innocence and how that is a cornerstone of our criminal justice system. Those are noble words. The Minister went on to say that the Bill's proposals allow an accused person to maintain ties with family and continue employment or education in his or her home country while awaiting trial. The Minister stated that by providing for the enforcement of bail conditions and return of the person for trial, the Bill also puts in place the necessary protections for victims and the public. That is very important. We are here to represent the public and we must be cognisant of them all of the time. Sometimes, however, I think that we are not. That is an essential element of this Bill and I would like firm assurances from the Minister.

We need to ensure that the innocent are not disproportionately affected by having to spend long periods of time in jail or custody, but equally we need guarantees that those who will be allowed to return to their place of ordinary residence abroad will be compelled to return. How are we going to enforce that or indeed provide in legislation for that? We are not. This must be guaranteed. It is weak in this legislation.

The victims of crime deserve priority in terms of the protection of rights. They should be front and centre in this and all legislation, and indeed in our own country freisin. Sadly, they are not. We have victims' rights legislation and we have all these issues. I could give many examples. I have a woman on to me at present - a mother whose daughter was murdered and whose son was almost murdered. A person was convicted. This was probably 12 and a half years ago, as I was only elected to this House six months at the time. She cannot find out any information as to whether that prisoner has been released, is due for release or whatever else. There is a total lack of engagement and correspondence with the victim. We have the victims' rights charter and everything else, but it is not happening. The Minister's Department is sadly lacking in engagement and informing victims. I do not blame the local gardaí because they do not know. There is not proper communication, engagement and follow-up where somebody is convicted and sent away to prison.

The woman is petrified. I met her last Sunday morning in the shop after mass. She is petrified to think that she may meet that person. I cannot find out and nobody will tell me. That should not be. I am not saying that there would be a witch hunt or anything else. All I want is to be aware and the family to be aware. We have seen countless cases, as have the Minister and other Members, where they bump into a person in the street whom they thought was a prisoner. It is devastating.

The victims of crime must be front and centre in all this. While, of course, we must have rights for the accused as well and a person is innocent until proven guilty, we must ensure that the situation regarding prisoners and the revolving door around bail are addressed. The other countries that we are dealing with and to whom we are hoping to give jurisdiction and agreement in this legislation must all be laughing at us because we have a revolving door system. There is an amount of free legal aid and bail.

The Judiciary needs considerable reform. I took a small trip this morning down to the Four Courts on another issue. The game goes on. They are around there, wigs and all. There is no mess, but wigs. It is a merry-go-round. I met a good barrister friend of mine who defended me once. He asked what I was doing down there. I said I had come down to see how they were implementing the laws that we pass above in the place where I work at the moment, and he laughed. He might as well laugh. I do not know whether they are implementing them but they are playing the game certainly, kicking the ball across and back, and over and yonder. There are deep pockets as well. They are well paid for it. I am not saying a word to the man who defended me. He earned his money, and I hope he got well paid. He did a good job because I was innocent anyway.

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