Paul Bradford (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have a question regarding the provision for up to three jurors to be discharged, with the jury then retiring to consider its verdict. Sometimes such a verdict might be arrived at relatively quickly but on other occasions, the deliberations might go on for a number of days. Let us imagine the situation in a court house during a trial which might have generated a significant degree of publicity. The balloting of jury members takes place and three members are selected to be discharged. Presumably, those members can then leave the court. Would the Minister be in any way concerned that the three discharged persons, who no longer constitute the jury for verdict purposes, might become the focus of media attention? The media might attempt to obtain information from them regarding discussions in the jury room and so forth. While it might be difficult for the three persons in question, would it not be more appropriate not to physically discharge them from the court setting so that there would be no danger of them being pursued by the media or others?