A REFERENDUM on bail and an increase in prison spaces are two options being considered by the Minister for Justice to combat the recent outbreak of violent crimes.
Ms Owen expressed concern yesterday over the rise and announced she was bringing a plan before the Government "within the next few days" to tackle crime on a number of fronts.
She was fully aware of public concerns about recent serious crimes. The number of reported crimes had increased in the past five or six years but what concerned her was the changing pattern - the viciousness of the crimes. People who robbed houses in the past "now feel they must use this awful brutality".
"I will be bringing plans in a matter of days to the Government to tackle a number of areas on a number of fronts. There is no single answer. I don't believe the public believes there is a single answer to life problems face".
The Minister, speaking on RTE radio, said she would be making proposals to the Government in the next few days on prison places. There had already been an overhaul of the courts and the most fundamental changes ever in the structure of the Garda.
A special team of gardai was being set up to confront rural crime by targeting areas that were most vulnerable.
Asked about the shortage of prison space, Ms Owen said: "I have been putting together worthwhile, attainable plans to ensure that I get prison places now, when I need them."
"I also plan for more to come on stream in the coming months and years so that no other Minister will have to face the predicament where we have a burgeoning prison population. In the early 1990s, those coming into the prison system amounted to 5,500. Last year, there were 10,000 committals to prison. It is clear our prison space is not keeping up with the numbers."
She was still in favour of a referendum on bail to prevent the number of crimes being committed by people on hail. She said the findings of the Law Reform Commission last October supported her view.
She was confident that her plans would see more prison spaces made available. "We will then be able to take a decision on a referendum on bail."
A delegation from the Irish Farmers' Association met the Minister yesterday and expressed the "widespread anger and concern" of rural people at the recent attacks on elderly people.
The president of the IFA, Mr John Donnelly, said afterwards they had demanded urgent Garda action and increased protection for rural people. He said he told the Minister he was not satisfied with the level of detection and apprehension of criminals involved in such attacks.
