Matt Carthy: 'Terrifying incidents like this are why our bail laws need an overhaul'
The shooting at the Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow raises serious questions about the operation of our bail laws.
The fact that the person who carried out the shooting at the shopping centre on Sunday was on bail at the time, having been charged with offences associated with purchasing an assault rifle on the dark web, raises many questions.
This weapon was seized along with a handgun and multiple types of ammunition, and he was arrested by specialist gardaí from the Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, who were assisted by armed officers from the Emergency Response Unit. Matt Carthy, Sinn Féin spokesperson on justice, home affairs and migration. Pic: Liam McBurney/PA Wire
This tells us just how serious a matter this was. The problem is that it is not an isolated incident. While many crimes committed by those on bail will involve issues such as public order offences, there have been a number of very serious crimes committed over recent months and years by those on bail.
Since my appointment as Sinn Féin spokesperson on justice, home affairs and migration, I have repeatedly questioned Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan in relation to the operation of the bail laws.
It was through the case of Shane O'Farrell, Zigimantas Gridziuska committed hundreds of bail violations before killing the young man in a hit-and-run, that I became particularly familiar with the flaws in how our bail laws operate.
I welcome the fact that the Minister for Justice, as part of the apology to the O'Farrell family last week, announced that he would appoint a senior counsel to examine the conditions under which a repeated offender can be granted bail while awaiting trial.
Like myself, many people will find it hard to understand how some people can repeatedly offend while on bail and remain at large, or how dangerous criminals can be released on bail.
How does this happen when the Bail Act 1997 (as amended) provides for the refusal of bail in particular circumstances, while An Garda Síochána can also object to bail being granted? Pic: Alan Rowlette/RollingNews.ie
Existing laws need to be examined to ensure that they are being appropriately enforced where there is a risk of someone committing further crimes while on bail.
However, I believe the problems are wider than what the minister is proposing to look at in the review, which he has announced.
The problems in terms of the level of crime being committed by those on bail cannot be separated from a wider range of problems within the criminal justice system.
Our jails are seriously overcrowded because we are doing such a bad job at cutting reoffending rates, particularly among young offenders. Some 60% of young adults under the age of 21 released from custody in 2020 reoffended within a year. That is simply not good enough and needs to be addressed.
We don't have enough gardaí to police our streets or ensure that offenders are abiding by the conditions of bail. Our court system is plagued by unacceptable delays, meaning that people who would otherwise be behind bars remain on bail for longer due to the time it takes for cases to come to court.
The result of all of this is that the number of crimes being committed by those on bail is extremely high. In March, I received a reply to a parliamentary question to the Minister for Justice that revealed that 40,348 crimes committed in 2024 were committed by those on bail.
Several weeks ago, I received further details regarding a number of very serious crimes committed by those on bail, including sexual assaults, robberies, possession of offensive weapons and possession of firearms.
Those figures showed that from 2022 to 2024, 64 crimes involving the possession of firearms were committed by those on bail.
In the same period, 2,312 crimes involving possession of an offensive weapon were committed by those on bail, while 49 sexual assaults were committed by people on bail in that period.
The Minister for Justice must examine whether the provisions within the Bail Acts dealing with and pre-empting breaches of bail are being properly enforced. D O the Gardaí have the numbers and resources to enforce the bail laws as they stand?
Or is part of the problem here that An Garda Síochána is understaffed and over-stretched? All of this needs to be looked at.
Our laws must ensure that the most dangerous criminals are behind bars. We are extremely lucky that no one else was seriously injured or killed in Sunday's incident, which has shocked the community in Carlow.
Now it is time to review not just the conditions under which a repeat offender can be granted bail while awaiting trial, but how our bail laws as a whole operate and how conditions of bail are actually being enforced.
The Minister for Justice must also urgently tackle the delays in our court system, which are allowing dangerous criminals to remain at large.
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