Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 27 Nov 2001

Vol. 545 No. 1

Written Answers. - Criminal Prosecutions.

Gay Mitchell

Question:

287 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will consider the concerns of a group (details supplied) in relation to bail and sentencing in drug dealing cases; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29538/01]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. O'Donoghue):

The courts are, subject only to the Constitution and the law, independent in the exercise of their judicial functions and I, as a member of the Executive, am precluded from intervening directly.

I can inform the Deputy that the Bail Act, 1997, has two main purposes. The first is con tained mainly in sections 2 to 4, inclusive, which, in line with the constitutional referendum of 1996, set out that for certain serious offences bail may be refused if the court is satisfied that it is "reasonably considered necessary" to prevent the commission of a serious offence by the accused. The remaining sections were designed to tighten up the bail regime in general and apply it to all offences, not just those scheduled as serious offences within the meaning of the Act.

Part II of the Criminal Justice Act, 1999, provides in section 4 for the creation of a new offence related to the possession of drugs with a value of £10,000 or more for the purpose of sale or supply. It provides in section 5 that the court shall, in imposing sentence, specify a minimum period of imprisonment to be served of not less than ten years upon conviction for the offence. Section 5 also provides that a court is entitled to depart from the imposition of the minimum sentence where there are exceptional and specific circumstances relating to the offence or the person convicted of the offence which would make it unjust in all the circumstances to impose the minimum ten year sentence. Factors to which the court may have regard in this respect include whether the person pleaded guilty and, if so, the stage at which the person indicated the intention to plead guilty and the circumstances in which the indication was given, and whether the person materially assisted the investigation of the offence.

The operation of the Criminal Justice Act, 1999, is being kept under review by my Department.