THE Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, has described the Government's proposed constitutional amendment on bail as "a balanced and necessary measure in the fight against crime".
The wording of the amendment was approved at yesterday's Cabinet meeting. There was mixed opposition reaction, with Fianna Fail giving it a "broad welcome" and the Progressive Democrats expressing concern that there would be no significant change in "the failed status quo".
Senior sources said the referendum was likely to take place on November 21st, with November 28th as a second choice. The proposed amendment states: "Provision may be made by law for the refusal of bail by a court to a person charged with a serious offence where it is reasonably considered necessary to prevent the commission of a serious offence by that person,".
The Sixteenth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, providing for the referendum, will be published "as quickly as possible", according to a statement from Mrs Owen.
The Government will also publish an outline of the legislation it intends to introduce should the amendment be accepted by the people, the statement said.
"The outline legislation will trout in detail the type of offences to which the new bail regime would apply, e.g. murder, manslaughter, causing grievous bodily harm, specified sexual, firearms, or drug trafficking offences.
"It will also set out the criteria to be taken into account by a court in deciding whether bail should be refused. These will include matters such as the nature of the offence the person is accused of, any previous convictions, and whether the person has committed offences previously while on bail."
A spokesman for the Bar Council said he hoped there would be "a full public debate" on the amendment. "Secondly, bail is necessitated by the delay that occurs between arrest and ultimate trial, and we would hope every administrative step possible will be taken to shorten that delay."
The Garda representative bodies welcomed the move but called for additional prison spaces.
Speaking after a meeting of the Fianna Fail front bench in Monaghan, the justice spokesman, Mr John O'Donoghue, said: "We have been pressing the Government in the Dail over a protracted period of time to extend the grounds on foot of which bail can be denied. "Belated response is a direct result of Fianna Fail's persistent pressure."
Ms Liz O'Donnell, justice spokeswoman for the Progressive Democrats, said a "substantive debate" could now begin. "Our mistakenly liberal bail laws have become a tool for hardened criminals," she said.
She Was concerned that the Government "may have devised too high a standard of proof on the prosecution to make any significant different to current practice". The PD parliamentary part will discuss the wording at a convened meeting today.
Legal sources concern at the "very substantial" delays in criminal trials in the Central Criminal Court, "in many instances now approaching two years". In the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court there was a waiting list of six months.
They were also concerned that the amendment was "an open ended provision" which set no limit on the period for which an accused person could be remanded in custody. Someone could be held for two years and then acquitted.
The Government could alter its amendment to limit the remand period to 90 or 120 days, or this could be incorporated into the accompanying legislation.