Some 250,000 crimes have been committed by people out on bail over the past decade, the Dáil has heard.
Speaking during Leader’s Questions on Wednesday, Galway West TD Noel Grealish said 89 murders, 237 serious sexual offenses, more than 50,000 thefts, the same number of public order offences and over 18,000 burglaries were committed by people on bail between 2006-2015.
“Over the past 10 years, just over a quarter of a million crimes have been committed in this country by people while they were out on bail,” Mr Grealish told the Dáil.
“A total of 250,149 to be exact. These, Taoiseach, included murderers, rapists, robbers and burglars who have wreaked havoc and brought terror to our society.”
Citing figures he received from the Central Statistics Office, Mr Grealish revealed that more than 6,000 crimes had already been committed by criminals out on bail during the first quarter of this year.
He warned that almost 26,000 such offences were committed last year, marking an 11 per cent increase 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," he said.
“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.
“I’m not talking about people carrying out petty crimes here, but murderers, rapists, vicious attackers and the like.”
Mr Grealish says the State must introduce specific categories for crimes which highlight the severity of the offence, and added that the Government was dragging its heels on bail reform due to the lack of spaces available in Irish prisons.
"I wonder is this being deliberately done because we don't have the spaces in our jails," he told The Irish Times. "There's a huge chronic shortage of space issue here.
“These people are released and are reoffending because they know they’re going to end up in jail anyway. They just don’t care.”
Mr Grealish said Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald had responded to his call for "radical reform" of the State's bail laws by giving a commitment to work with the attorney general and implement reforms by the autumn.
“The Taoiseach did also give a commitment that they would be reviewing this over the coming months. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
