Minister for Justice must act to address shocking number of crimes carried out by suspects on bail – Matt Carthy TD

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, Matt Carthy TD, today challenged Minister Jim O’Callaghan on the actions he will take on the revelation that the suspects for 40,348 crimes carried out in 2024 were on bail release.

Speaking during Ministerial questions in the Dáil, Deputy Carthy pointed out that the number of crimes committed where suspects are on bail rose from 26,000 in 2016 to over 40,000 in 2024, and called for a review of the operation of the bail laws.

Teachta Carthy said:

“The Minister for Justice must outline what actions he is going to take to address the fact that the suspects for a shocking 40,348 crimes carried out in 2024 were on bail release. He needs to tell the Dáil if he is satisfied with the extent to which adherence with bail conditions are monitored and enforced.

“While the suspects for 40,348 crimes carried out in 2024 were on bail, another reply which I received from the Minister on the 25th of February revealed that there were only 4,146 arrests in 2024 where there was reasonable cause to suspect that person had breached or was in breach of a bail condition.

“I asked the Minister if this discrepancy between the number of crimes committed where the suspect is on bail and the number of arrests for breaches of bail suggests that there is a significant problem in terms of the monitoring of bail conditions and holding those on bail to account for breaches of their bail conditions. There is every reason to suspect that a lack of gardaí is a significant part of the problem in terms of ensuring conditions of bail are adhered to and enforced.

“Given that the number of crimes committed where suspects are on bail release went from 26,000 in 2016 to over 40,000 in 2024, I am calling on the Minister to commit to reviewing the operation of the bail laws, including the changes to the bail laws introduced under the 2017 Criminal Justice Act.”