Electronic tagging of accused burglars
Denis Naughten asks why section 11 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007 has not been commenced to enable electronic tagging of people on bail, citing burglaries and unused tags. The Taoiseach refers him to the forthcoming burglary Bill debate, while Naughten reiterates that he asked about the existing Act.
People who are out on bail are committing 33 burglaries a week. In 2006, the current Taoiseach called for the electronic tagging of people who are on bail and this was provided for in section 11 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007. There are 50 electronic tags gathering dust in a cardboard box at the moment.
Comment on this
This is costing the taxpayer €140,000 a year. A ministerial order from the Minister for Justice and Equality is required to bring section 11 of the 2007 Act into force. When will that be forthcoming? When will we start to tag criminals who are out on bail to prevent them from trying to burglarise and terrorise the country?
Comment on this
The Criminal Justice (Burglary of Dwellings) Bill 2015 is due to be debated on Second Stage tomorrow. The Minister has referred to this on a number of occasions. There are conditions and circumstances that apply in respect of electronic tagging, as the Deputy is well aware. He will have an opportunity to articulate what he has just said when the Bill is introduced by the Minister tomorrow. It is more than likely that the Minister will deal with the question of section 11 when she responds to the debate.