New Waterford figures reveal ‘shocking’ number of crimes committed by people out on bail
McGuinness said the “public will not tolerate a situation where dangerous criminals are repeatedly released on bail to commit further crimes”.
The suspects in more than 5,000 crimes in the Garda District covering Waterford were on bail at the time the illegal actions were committed since 2022, new figures show.
Last year, across the country, the suspects for 40,348 different crimes were people on bail according to data released by the Department of Justice.
The figures were released in response to a request from Deputy Matt Carthy, the Sinn Féin Justice spokesperson, and show that the suspects in 5,250 crimes carried out in the Waterford, Kilkenny and Carlow Garda Division since 2022 were on bail release at the time.
In the same time period on a national basis, the suspects in 114,655 crimes were on bail, with an annual increase last year of nearly 5,000 crimes being committed by those on bail.
Waterford TD Conor McGuinness, said the marked increase in the figures raised the question of whether bail laws should be re-examined and he called for urgency in dealing with the matter: “If the bail laws are not working, as these figures suggest, then the Government must act".
“These figures show that bail laws need to be examined to ensure that they are being appropriately applied where there is a risk of someone committing further crimes while on bail,” the West Waterford TD said, with the the issue having been raised by his party in the Dáil.
“It is clear there has been a considerable rise in the number of crimes being committed by those on bail,” Teachta McGuinness said. “While many of these crimes would be considered relatively minor, some have been very serious, including those which have resulted in the loss of life.”
McGuinness said the “public will not tolerate a situation where dangerous criminals are repeatedly released on bail to commit further crimes” and called for increased visibility of An Garda Síochána in towns and villages in Waterford.
“If we are to deliver safe communities and reduce the level of crime, we cannot accept a situation where this level of crime is being carried out by those on bail," he said.
