Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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128. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality in view of the extent to which further offences continue to be perpetrated by persons while on bail, when she expects to be in a position to amend the law on bail in order to protect potential victims; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13802/15]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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130. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which particular persons have been recorded as re-offending on multiple occasions while on bail; the action proposed to address such issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13804/15]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 128 and 130 together.

The Deputy will be aware that a decision to grant bail in a particular case is a matter for the court, which is, subject only to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of its judicial functions. There is a constitutional presumption in favour of bail because, in the eyes of the law, a person is innocent until proven guilty. The provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights also restrict the extent to which the right to bail can be limited.

Prior to the Sixteenth Amendment of the Constitution, bail could be refused essentially only on the grounds that the accused person would be likely to abscond or interfere with witnesses or evidence. Section 2 of the Bail Act 1997, which gave effect to the Sixteenth Amendment of the Constitution, permits the courts to refuse bail to a person charged with a serious offence where refusal of bail is reasonably considered necessary to prevent the commission of a serious offence by that person. A “serious offence” is an offence listed in the Schedule to the Bail Act that is punishable by at least five years imprisonment.

Section 11 of the Criminal Justice 1984 as amended by section 22 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 provides that any sentence of imprisonment for an offence committed while on bail shall be consecutive but if imposed in the District Court the aggregate term of imprisonment shall not exceed two years.

As regards reform of the bail laws, I can inform the Deputy that the drafting of the General Scheme of a Bail Bill to modernise the law on bail is at an advanced stage in my Department. I intend to bring proposals to Government on the matter in the near future.

I am conscious of public concern about the extent to which offences are committed by persons on bail. I share that concern and believe that bail law must be continually reviewed to ensure that all possible avenues are taken to protect the public against the commission of crime, particularly serious crime, by persons on bail. While the primary aim of the proposed Bail Bill is to consolidate and update bail law, I am taking the opportunity in this legislation to seek, as far as is possible, within the constraints of the Constitution and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, to restructure the law so that it has a focus on the protection of the individual and of the public. The intention is that the new proposals will provide better guidance to the courts on how such protection might be provided.

The Garda Síochána Act 2005 makes provision for the compilation and publication of crime statistics by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), as the national statistical agency, and the CSO has established a dedicated unit for this purpose.

I have asked the CSO to forward relevant statistics directly to the Deputy.