Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 160: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when he will establish the Judicial Sentencing Commission; and the time-frame once established to publish sentencing guidelines. [36477/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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In considering this matter, my Department is guided by the ongoing work of the steering committee established by the Courts Service Board to plan for and provide information on sentencing. The committee, under the chair of Mrs. Justice Susan Denham of the Supreme Court, comprises a judge from the High, Circuit and District Courts and a university law lecturer with expertise in sentencing law.

The project, known as the Irish Sentencing Information System ("ISIS"), involves an examination of the feasibility of providing a computerised information system on sentences and other penalties imposed for criminal offences. This will assist judges when considering the sentence to be imposed in an individual case.

The objective of a sentencing information system is to enable a judge, by entering relevant criteria, to access information about the range of sentences and other penalties imposed for particular types of offence in previous cases.

The Committee established a pilot project in June 2006 in Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. A further pilot commenced in Cork Circuit Court in April 2008. An appropriate IT system has been developed incorporating a database where the information collected is electronically stored for subsequent retrieval and searching.

Charles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 161: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform when he will introduce an annual formal review process to assess the effect of both the new mandatory sentencing regime for drug crime and for bail. [36478/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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Section 27 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 (as amended by the Criminal Justice Acts 1999, 2006 and 2007), provides for mandatory minimum sentences of not less than 10 years imprisonment for individuals convicted of a first offence under sections 15A and/or 15B of that Act.

The mandatory minimum sentence, or to give it its more accurate description, presumptive minimum sentence, is to be imposed in all cases save for those with very specific and exceptional mitigating factors.

Where an individual is convicted of a second or subsequent offence under sections 15A and/or 15B a court must always impose a sentence of not less than the mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years. The maximum sentence available for section 15A and 15B offences is life imprisonment.

Having regard to concern about the degree to which the presumptive minimum sentence was being imposed, notwithstanding the amendments introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2006, section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 further amended section 27 of the 1977 Act in order to insert an interpretation clause.

The clause emphasises that a decision to depart from the presumptive minimum sentence must be based on the presence of exceptional and specific circumstances relating to the offence or the offender which would make it unjust in all the circumstances to impose a sentence of not less than 10 years.

Referring to the damaging effects of drug related crime on society the clause states that a court must, as a general principle, always impose the presumptive minimum sentence on persons convicted of an offence under sections 15A and 15B.

The Agreed Programme for Government includes a commitment to conduct a formal annual review of the effect of these provisions concerning the mandatory sentence regime for drug crime which were introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2007.

As the provisions in question which are contained in Section 33 of the Act have only been in operation since 18 May 2007, the issue of establishing a formal review mechanism will be addressed at the appropriate stage.

With regard to the issue of bail, I can assure the Deputy that the Government has monitored the operation of the bail laws and continuously made them more stringent.

The Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution allows for bail to be refused 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 Bail Act 1997 gave effect to this Amendment and also tightened up the bail regime generally. One of the provisions introduced by this Act is that an offence committed while on bail is to be treated as an aggravating factor when sentence is being imposed by the Courts.

Under the Criminal Justice Act 1984, a sentence imposed for an offence committed while on bail is to run consecutive to the sentence for the original offence.

New powers were introduced by the Criminal Justice Act 2007 including a requirement that applicants for bail may have to provide a statement of their means, their previous criminal record and details of any offences committed while previously on bail.

This Act also provides that the opinion of a Garda Chief Superintendent that bail should be refused on the grounds that the applicant is likely to commit a serious offence if granted bail is admissible as evidence.

I am keeping all aspects of the operation of our bail laws under review.