Editorials

The Irish Times view on a new report on bail: the number held in pre-trial detention is too high

Implementing reform measures would have the benefit of both being in keeping with the presumption of innocence and taking some of the pressure off the prison system

The Courts of Criminal Justice on Parkgate St, Dublin: a new ICCL report says that too many accused people are being refused bail. (Photograph: Dave Meehan/The Irish Times)

Tue May 7 2024 - 20:15

The right to be released on bail pending trial is an extension of the presumption of innocence that underpins the Irish legal system. It is not an absolute right and before granting bail the court must be satisfied that the accused will turn up for trial and won’t reoffend in the meantime.

According to a new report from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties nearly all the metrics in terms of the numbers being denied bail are going the wrong way. The overall numbers held in pre-trial detention are up. The numbers in prison awaiting trial as a percentage of the overall prison population has increased, as has the number who have been held for more than a year. The number of people being remanded for less serious crimes such as public order offences is also growing.

All of this is happening against a background of prison overcrowding that sees prisoners regularly sleeping on floors and risks spilling over into violence, according to the Department of Justice

Much of the increase can be traced back to the Covid 19 pandemic which saw jury trials suspended at a time when the system was already experiencing significant backlogs due to a shortage of judges.

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The ICCL also flags a possible bias against non-nationals, despite an EU recommendation that a lack of links to a state cannot be used on its own as a reason to conclude that there is a flight risk and denying bail.

The ICCL has put more judges near the top of its list of recommendations to tackle this, as well as reducing the number of offences for which bail can be refused. They also want to see the phasing out of the use of preventive detention in such situations. Quicker trials and compensation when the accused is acquitted after a long period on remand, better training for judges and an end to the practice of refusing bail for non-serious offences are also on the list.

Implementing all or some of these measures would have the benefit of both being in keeping with the presumption of innocence and taking some of the pressure off the prison system.

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