Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

In general, bail can be invoked by a person who has not yet been convicted. That is the crucial distinction between bail and this legislation. The inherent powers of the court to grant bail apply to persons whose guilt has not been established and are innocent in the eyes of the law. It is true that in exceptional circumstances bail is given pending an appeal, but after the final appeal the question of bail does not arise and a person is remanded in custody. While it is also true that the courts in our system, in the consideration of sentencing following conviction, can remand a person, otherwise than in custody, and leave a person at liberty pending final sentence, there is no analogy between those circumstances and the circumstances described in the Bill. The persons referred to have been convicted and have demonstrated a propensity to evade the execution of their sentence. There is a world of difference between that and a person whom a judge, in his or her discretion, believes can be left at liberty pending the final determination of his or her sentence.