The drafting of the General Scheme of a Bail Bill to modernise the law on bail is at an advanced stage in my Department. I intend to bring proposals to Government on the matter soon, having regard to other legislative priorities. It has, unfortunately, not been possible to progress this legislation as quickly as I had hoped due to other legislative imperatives.
While the primary aim of the proposed Bail Bill is to consolidate and update bail law, I will take the opportunity in this legislation to seek, as far as is possible, within the constraints of the Constitution and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, to restructure the law so that it has a focus on the protection of the individual and of the public. The intention is that the new proposals will provide better guidance to the courts on how such protection might be provided.