Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 January 2024
255. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Justice the total number of bail applications which have been made before the courts in each year from 2010 to date; how many applications were granted or rejected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2246/24]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, restriction of a person’s liberty prior to trial is a very serious matter, given the Constitutional presumption that a person is considered innocent until proven guilty.
While the State’s bail laws provide for the refusal of bail in certain circumstances, judges are independent in the exercise of their judicial functions and the decision to grant bail in a particular case is solely a matter for the judge concerned based on the available facts.
The Bail Act 1997, which followed a 1996 referendum on the matter, enables courts to refuse bail for a person charged with a serious offence to prevent the risk of another serious offence being committed while on bail. Since then, the State’s bail laws have been further strengthened, specifically by the Criminal Justice Act 2007, the Criminal Justice (Burglary of Dwellings) Act 2015, and the Criminal Justice Act 2017.
In considering whether to refuse bail under the 1997 Act, the Court is required to have regard to persistent serious offending by an applicant, and, in specific circumstances, the nature and likelihood of any danger to a person or to the community from granting bail. The 2017 Act further provides for stricter bail terms for repeat serious offenders, including the use of curfews and strengthens Garda powers to deal with breaches of bail.
The Deputy may be aware that Zero Tolerance, the Third National Strategy on Domestic Sexual and Gender Based Violence, commits to establish a review cycle to identify outstanding and emerging further reforms required to law, practice and procedure outside of supporting the victim/survivor (with attention to the voices of adult and child survivors). As part of this work, consideration will be given to provisions governing bail where there has been a suspected breach of a barring order and where there is a history of violence.
As bail applications are made directly to the court and judges then make a decision whether or not to grant bail in a particular case, the information sought by the Deputy is not held by my Department.
As the Deputy will be aware, the management of the courts, operational matters and logistical functions are the responsibility of the judiciary and Courts Service, which are independent in exercising their functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and given the separation of powers in the Constitution.
The Courts Service has a dedicated email address for the provision of information to members of the Houses of the Oireachtas: oireachtasenquiries@courts.ie , but to be of assistance I have referred the question to the Courts Service for direct response to the Deputy.
