Brian O'Shea
Ceist:202 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the effect the Bail Act, 1997, has had; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10190/01]
Written Answers. - Bail Act, 1997.
The Bail Act, 1997, has two main purposes. The first is contained mainly in sections 2 to 4 which, in line with the constitutional referendum of 1996, set out that for cer tain 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 to all offences, not just those scheduled as serious offences within the meaning of the Act. The introduction into law of these sections was of significance to all court offices. The table below shows the number of bails paid into the District Courts from 1 January 2000, until 15 May 2000, and between 16 May 2000, and 31 December 2000. The table also shows the amounts paid into court for the two periods.
While the two time periods are not quite the same length, it is clear from the table that there has been a very large increase in the number of bails lodged in the District Courts as a result of the coming into force of section 5 of the Act. While the amount paid in has also increased, it has not increased to the same degree.
District Court Bail Year 2000
|
Number of Bails Receivedfrom 1/1/00-15/5/00 |
Number of Bails Received from16/5/00-31/12/00 |
Amount of Bail Received from 1/1/00-15/5/00 |
Amount of Bail Received from 16/5/00-31/12/00 |
|
2,124 |
10,841 |
£958,677 |
£2,728,359 |
While a longer time period for study would be required to make a definitive statement, indications are that the numbers remanded in custody are subject to continuous change but, in general, are increasing.