Coalition party leaders consider Owen proposal for referendum

THE Minister for Justice, Mrs Owen, has circulated a proposal to the three Coalition party leaders for the holding of a Constitutional referendum on bail.

But the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, and the Minister for Social Welfare, Mr De Rossa, have asked for an examination of other ways of deal with the problem of who re-offend on bail, be that the blanket instrument of a referendum may not be required.

Following months of consideration, the preliminary paper presented by the Minister is now being examined by representatives of the three Government leaders. There is a consensus that the question must be addressed during the lifetime of this Government but, so far, there is no agreement between the Coalition leaders on the means of doing so.

Mr Spring and Mr De Rossa have called for a more precise examination of bail offenses so that the measures to confront the problem will be tightly focused.

It is understood that the discussions between the nominated representatives of the three party leaders are ongoing and that it will be some time before a formal memorandum can be presented to Cabinet.

The question of a referendum on bail arises because the Constitution guarantees the liberty of the individual and the Supreme Court, in its judgment in tile O'Callaghan case, said that bail could not be denied on the basis of anticipated crime.

The Minister for Justice first proposed the holding of a bail referendum in March 1995, when she announced on television that she thought changing the bail laws could reduce persistent offending.

The Law Reform Commission, in its report published last September, doubted whether the overall level of crime would be reduced by detaining accused people thought likely to commit further offences if granted bail.

The report suggested that a blanket refusal of bail would pose a number of serious problems. These included the need for an additional 600 prison places at a capital cost of about £80 million and annual running costs of £20 million.

Among the alternative methods of dealing with bail offenders suggested by the Commission were the creation of an offence of breach of a bail condition or the committing of a crime while on bail. The report did not extend to the formulation of proposals for the reform of the bail laws or for amending the Constitution which underpins them.