Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 90: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the number of crimes committed every year for the past five years by offenders on bail; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21110/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to circulate in the Official Report a tabular statement setting out details of persons who were on bail at the time of the recording of a criminal incident in respect of which they were suspected. These figures are readily available only in respect of the years 2004 to 2007. While the commission of every crime is to be deplored, I accept fully that the commission of offences by persons while on bail is an issue of considerable concern.

The law already takes a serious view of such offences. The Criminal Justice Act 1984 provides for mandatory consecutive sentences to apply where a person is convicted of an offence committed while on bail. In addition, the law provides that the fact that an offence was committed while on bail must be treated as an aggravating factor at sentencing and that the court shall impose a sentence that is greater than that which would have been imposed otherwise, unless there are exceptional circumstances.

The granting of bail is a matter for the courts. The Director of Public Prosecutions, who is independent in the performance of his functions, represents the State for the purposes of dealing with such applications. It would obviously not be appropriate for me to comment on the circumstances in which bail may have been granted, or refused, in particular cases.

Prior to the sixteenth amendment of the Constitution, bail could be refused essentially only on the grounds that a person would be likely to abscond or interfere with witnesses. The Bail Act 1997, which gave effect to the terms of the sixteenth amendment of the Constitution, 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.

The House will be aware that there have been concerns at how, in practice, our bail laws have been operating and these led to the inclusion in the Criminal Justice Act 2007 of a series of new provisions designed to tighten up on the granting of bail. Those provisions have been in operation for just 12 months and their effectiveness will be reviewed. In addition I intend to keep all aspects of the operation of our bail law under review to see whether further changes are necessary.

While I accept that in the operation of our bail laws due regard must be had to the presumption of innocence, regard must also be had to the need to protect the community.

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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What exactly is the problem here? We have had a difficulty with our bail laws for many years and the House has attempted on a number of occasions to address this matter as it gives rise to significant public concern. We had the 1984 Act and 12 years later we had a bail referendum, following which we had the Bail Act. In 2006 and 2007 we had further criminal justice Acts. I have not seen the table the Minister circulated with his reply, but we are dealing with a situation where thousands of crimes are being committed each year by people who, on the occasion of the commission of the crime, are out on bail in respect of other charges. This cannot be allowed to continue.

With reference to the 2007 Act, why has the section dealing with electronic tagging not been brought into force and why is it not being used? Another section of that Act facilitated the right of the Garda Síochána, on the part of the State, to appeal to the High Court in cases where bail has been granted. Why has that section not been put into operation? There are, therefore, three issues with regard to the delay involved in proceeding to criminal trials, namely, the failure to operate the two sections of the 2007 Act which were designed to alleviate the bail problem and the matter of the delay. Bail is an important issue that we have been grappling with for decades, yet thousands of crimes are being committed each year by people who are out on bail and who, dare I say it, have an incentive to commit another crime given that they are already facing charges, some of which are of a very serious nature.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I share the concern of the Deputy with regard to crimes being committed by people on bail. The Deputy is correct in saying the Oireachtas has grappled with the issue and put it to the people on at least one occasion in a referendum. We will, possibly, have to return to a referendum on the issue in the future. I intend to keep the situation under review and will not hesitate to bring forward further legislative change if necessary.

On the issue of tagging, there is a body of opinion that this may not be the most cost effective way of dealing with the matter and that introducing tagging may allow a situation where even more people would be allowed out on bail, on the basis that it is an alternative to incarcerating people who, under the eyes of the law, are innocent until proven guilty. It is the effort to achieve the right balance with regard to the taking away of a person's liberty that causes the issue with which the Judiciary must grapple. On one hand it must consider the right of people who are innocent until proven guilty and on the other the common good to ensure suspects are held in custody rather than given bail.

Over the years, the Oireachtas has given a strong signal that the issue must be dealt with firmly and that is the reason we enacted the legislation in 2007. It has only been in place less than 12 months and must be given the opportunity to bed down. If we feel that other issues need to be dealt with then, we will deal with them.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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The Minister appears to agree with this side of the House that crimes committed by persons on bail are especially reprehensible. Will he tell the House what measures he proposes to introduce to deal with this phenomenon?

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Does the Minister agree that the reduction in the length of time spent on bail would help minimise opportunities to offend while on bail? From that point of view, proper resourcing of the justice system, the courts, the DPP, the forensic lab and the free legal aid service, in particular, would go a long way. With that in mind, will the Minister give us an update on the new State forensic lab? Currently, delays with results from the forensic lab cause huge problems with court cases and on occasion it can take up to 18 months before a case can come to trial. If someone was denied bail in such a case, the time in custody would be the equivalent of a three-year sentence.

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I intend to keep the issue of bail under review. There are issues that could be examined, but in view of the fact that the recent changes brought in by the Oireachtas in 2007 have not had the opportunity to have an effect, it is not necessary to introduce new legislation. It is only when that legislation has had the opportunity to take effect that we should consider other changes.

On the issues raised by Deputy Ó Snodaigh, I suggest he submit a separate question on those issues.