Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)
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Question 61: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his attention has been drawn to the call from ADVIC, the advocacy group for families and friends of murder victims, for changes to the bail laws, particularly to bar those accused of murder from applying for bail in advance of their trial; his plans for dealing with same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19593/10]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I received today proposals from ADVIC in relation to bail law. I am grateful to ADVIC for these proposals and I look forward to examining them in the context of the preparation of a new Bail Bill. However I should point out that a blanket ban on persons charged with murder applying for bail is unlikely to be compatible with the Constitution or the European Convention on Human Rights. Work is in progress in my Department on the scheme of the new Bill. The main purpose of the Bill is to consolidate and update bail law with a view to presenting a clear, accessible and modern statement of the law. In preparing the scheme, a number of matters in the current law will be addressed to ensure that the bail regime can operate in as tight and effective a way as possible. In particular, my Department will examine the extent to which the law could be restated to give greater guidance to the courts on the need to protect the public against those who present an unacceptable risk of committing a serious offence if granted bail.