Concern over rise in crime committed by offenders on bail

A Galway TD has expressed concern at a sharp rise in the number of crimes being committed by offenders out on bail.

Independent Deputy Noel Grealish was speaking in the Dáil, where he pointed to an eleven per cent increase in the incidence of crimes where the suspected culprit had been on bail last year.

And latest figures he received from the Central Statistics Office for the first quarter of this year show the trend continuing, with more than 6,000 crimes committed by criminals out on bail.

“Over the past ten years, just over a quarter of a million crimes have been committed in this country by people while they were out on bail. A total of 250,149 to be exact,” Deputy Grealish told the Dáil when he raised the issue during Leaders’ Questions.

“These, Taoiseach, included murderers, rapists, robbers and burglars who have wreaked havoc and brought terror to our society.

“From 2006 to 2015, people on bail were responsible for 89 murders, 237 serious sexual offences, more than 50,000 thefts and the same number of public order offences, and more than 18,000 burglaries.”

The Galway West TD warned that the situation was getting worse, with figures from the Central Statistics Office showing that last year, almost 26,000 such offences were committed, a disturbing increase of eleven per cent on the previous year.

“That is the equivalent of 500 crimes a week being carried out in Ireland by people who have already been charged with a criminal offence for which they are awaiting their day in court.

“These are people apprehended by the Gardaí, brought in, charged, and then released while a file is sent to the DPP. That file could be with the DPP for months, and in the meantime, these people are reoffending

“This is very, very frustrating for the Garda Síochána and it is exceptionally upsetting for victims of the crime, who can see the criminal walking down their street, making them feel intimidated and in fear.”

Deputy Grealish asked was it not time that the bail laws were radically reformed and these people put behind bars immediately, “or is this being deliberately done because we don’t have the room within our prisons to put these vicious criminals away? I’m not talking about people carrying out petty crimes here, but murderers, rapists, vicious attackers and the like.”

Figures for the first quarter of 2016 show “an equally depressing picture”, with a total of 6,049 crimes committed where the suspected offender was on bail for other offences.