Vol. 488 No. 2
175 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if the principles of the Bail Referendum could be applied initially to persons charged with heroin dealing, in view of the very serious situation where persons so charged are back on the streets selling drugs. [6003/98]
The Bail Act, 1997, which was passed into law by the Oireachtas in May of last year, gives legislative effect to the terms of the Sixteenth Amendment to the Constitution. Section 13 of the Act provides that the Act is to come into operation by order to be made by the Minister.
I said in a previous reply to the Deputy, Question No. 146 of 27 November 1997, that the provisions of the Act had not been brought into force because existing prison accommodation would not be able to deal with the additional demand and that I would bring them into force as quickly as possible. Obviously I want to avoid a situation where convicted persons would have to be released to make space for additional remand prisoners.
The Bail Act, 1997, is not framed in such a way that would allow partial implementation of the kind envisaged in the Deputy's question. As I informed the Deputy previously, I will bring the provisions of the Bail Act into force as quickly as possible. I am keeping the matter under continuous review in the context of the major prison building programme which I have under way at present which includes a new remand prison for 400 beside Wheatfield.
