Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026: Committee Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-24
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Frances Black (IND), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I move amendment No. 14:
In page 16, to delete lines 23 to 26.
Amendment No. 14 asks us to delete specific lines from section 12 which deal with bail, and we are concerned that these provisions expand the grounds on which bail can be refused. We do not believe that expansion is justified or that it has received the scrutiny it deserves. We all know bail is not a reward, it is an entitlement rooted in the presumption of innocence. When we expand the grounds on which it can be refused, we are in effect detaining people who have not been convicted of any offence. That is a serious step and it requires serious justification.
I wish to flag something about how this Bill has been developed. As it has passed through the Oireachtas, new provisions have been added on bail, extradition and other areas, often without the scrutiny those provisions deserve. The Minister himself has acknowledged that he has used this Bill as a vehicle for measures which did not go through pre-legislative scrutiny. We should be cautious about what we are passing today. We ask that these lines be deleted, not because we are against protecting the public, but because the expansion of bail refusal grounds has to be evidence-based, clearly justified and properly scrutinised. We do not believe that standard has been met for these specific provisions. The right to liberty pending trial is absolutely fundamental and we should not be chipping away at it through miscellaneous provisions Bills.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-24/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:06+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-24