Mary Lou McDonald says bail situation ‘cannot continue’ as 40,348 suspects were on bail last year
Suspects in 40,348 crimes were given bail last year, an increase of almost 5,000 on 2022, according to Sinn Féin leader Calling for action on bail laws, she said that, “astonishingly”, 114,655 crime suspects were out on bail over the past three years.
Ms McDonald said the figures were released in a parliamentary reply to Sinn Féin’s justice spokesman Matt Carthy. She said the situation with bail “cannot continue”.that “people won’t tolerate a situation where criminals, people out on bail, are at liberty and free to offend and reoffend again and again”.Trump says ‘golden age of America has only just begun’ in speech riddled with exaggerations and inaccuraciesNathan McDonnell’s carry-on-as-normal behaviour suggested a profound dissociation from the €32m of crystal meth in his yard She asked the Taoiseach to say when the Government will “finally acknowledge and get on top of this issue”. Mr Martin said he does not know whether she is “proposing wholesale internment of suspects”. He said the figures are “huge” and there must be a focus on people with “a history of crime”. He said the bail laws have been reformed and will be reformed further. The Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan is looking at the issue, he said, “but there are limits to what can be done”. “We want to stamp down on crime,” Mr Martin said, adding: “we’re very intolerant of people committing crime.” But, he said, there cannot be a “wholesale system where everyone who is charged is locked up”. The figures released to Mr Carthy showed the largest number of suspects on bail were for crimes committed in the north inner city, classed as the north central Dublin Metropolitan Region , followed by 4,514 in the south central DMR.In Meath/Westmeath 1,792 suspects received bail, compared to 1,750 in the Limerick region. The lowest number of bail cases was 434 in the Sligo/Leitrim area, with 576 in Mayo/Roscommon/Longford. In the reply, the Minister stated that, under section 11 of the amended 1984 Criminal Justice Act, “any sentence of imprisonment for an offence committed while on bail shall run consecutive to any sentence for a previous offence”. If an offence is committed while on bail this “must be treated as an aggravating factor in sentencing and result in a higher sentence”.The response said data for 2024 indicates the most common offence types committed by offenders on bail were public order/drinking ; shop theft ; simple possession , relating to persons in possession of a controlled drug for their own personal use; and criminal damage . A total of 59 per cent of crimes were committed by suspects on bail.Offshore renewables and solar panels are climate ‘game-changer’, says TaoiseachWoman avoids penalty points for second time through 24-hour driving disqualification Nathan McDonnell’s carry-on-as-normal behaviour suggested a profound dissociation from the €32m of crystal meth in his yardUS supreme court rules that Trump cannot withhold payment to foreign aid groups Our politics team's behind-the-scenes take on events of the day. Every Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday when the Dáil sits
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