Written answers

Thursday, 25 November 2021

Department of Justice and Equality

Prison Service

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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316. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which repeat offenders are being granted bail, including those who are members of organised criminal gangs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58167/21]

Photo of Helen McEnteeHelen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The information requested by the Deputy is not available. However, I wish to advise the Deputy that I have asked my officials to discuss this request for information with the relevant Criminal Justice Agencies and the CSO to see what statistical information can be developed in this area.

As the Deputy is aware, the decision to grant bail in a particular case is a matter for the presiding Judge, who is independent in the exercise of his or her judicial functions. There is also a constitutional presumption in favour of the granting of bail as, under Irish Law, a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The presumption that a person is innocent until proven guilty has traditionally been considered by the courts to prohibit pre-trial detention except where it appeared that the accused person, if released on bail, was likely to evade justice by absconding or interfering with witnesses or evidence.

In the light of concerns at the increase in the incidence of offences committed while on bail, a referendum took place in 1996 on a proposed amendment to the Constitution to allow the courts to refuse bail where there are grounds for believing that the accused will commit serious offences while on bail. The referendum was passed and section 2 of the Bail Act 1997 gave effect to this constitutional amendment which 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. Subsequent to this, the law on Bail has been strengthened on three occasions, specifically in the Criminal Justice Act 2007, the Criminal Justice Act 2015 and the Criminal Justice Act 2017.

As previously conveyed, I can inform the Deputy that Garda authorities advise that the amended bail laws have proven to be effective and have assisted An Garda Síochána in tackling the threat of organised crime.

In addition, the Government has also supported An Garda Síochána in addressing the threat from organised crime gangs through the introduction of legislative measures such as:

- The Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Act 2016 which provides additional Garda powers for the immediate seizure of assets suspected of being the proceeds of crime to prevent them being disposed of;

- The Criminal Justice (Forensic Evidence and DNA Database System) Act 2014, providing for the establishment and operation of the DNA database providing Gardaí with links between people and unsolved crimes;

- The Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009, introduced to protect the justice system from being subverted by criminal groups, including potential intimidation of juries.

Photo of Bernard DurkanBernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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317. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the extent to which recidivism is evident in the context of various levels of offences; the groups most seriously affected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58168/21]

Photo of Helen McEnteeHelen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, the Central Statistics Office regularly publishes both prison and probation re-offending statistics on their website www.cso.ie.

The Prison Re-offending Statistics measure the level of recorded re-offending by offenders who received a custodial sentence following their release from prison. The 3-year re-offending rate indicates the percentage of people who were convicted for a crime incident that was recorded within three years of their release. A further 2 years after the 3-year year period is set as the limit for a valid conviction to take place. The 1- year re-offending rate indicates the same measure but includes only those who were convicted of a crime within one year of their release, with a further year set as the time limit for the court outcome to take place.

According to the latest release of the Prison Re-offending Statistics 2011 – 2018, published in June of this year, out of the 1,323 persons who re-offended within a year of release in 2018, over a half (50.6%) re-offended in just two offence groups - theft (331) or public order related offences (339).

The Probation Re-offending Statistics measure the level of recorded re-offending by offenders that were placed under the management of the Probation Service. The re-offending rate indicates the percentage of people who were reconvicted for a crime incident that was recorded within a defined period (re-offence window) following the commencement of their Probation, Community Service or Post Release Supervision Order. The conviction must be within two years of the date that incident was recorded.

The latest Probation Re-offending Statistics 2017, published on 19 November, indicate that of the 1,368 individuals that re-offended within a year of receiving their probation orders in 2017, individuals were most likely to re-offend with an offence linked to Road and Traffic offences (23%), public order and other social code offences (22%), theft and related offences (17%), controlled drug offences (13%) and Offences against Government, justice procedures and organisation of crime (9%).

Further detailed statistical information can found at the CSO website statistics section at People and Society - Crime and Justice.

Non-custodial penalties, particularly supervised community sanctions, play a significant and important role in addressing criminality, reducing reoffending and providing a degree of protection to the public and this is supported by CSO figures on recidivism.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government 2020 contains a broad range of policies and proposals that represent a coherent approach to enhancing and sustaining a more just and safe society with a specific commitment to review policy options for prison and penal reform.

As part of this work, a cross-sectoral group which includes the Head of Criminal Justice Policy, the Director-General of the Irish Prison Service and the Director of the Probation Service was established last year. This Group is taking forward the Government’s commitment to review policy options for prison and penal reform and is due to report by the end of the year. This work will build on a number of initiatives that have been introduced over the past decade to reduce reoffending including Community Return and Community Support Schemes and the Joint Agency Response to Crime (JARC).

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