In 2016 I raised the question of our bail laws in this House when I told the Taoiseach's predecessor how more than 250,000 offences had been committed in Ireland in the previous ten years by people who were out on bail at the time. The only element that has changed since is the numbers have gone up. In the decade from 2011 to 2020, offenders out on bail were found responsible by a court for a staggering total of 261,427 crimes. They include 84 homicides and almost 9,000 threats to murder or seriously assault, with more than 4,000 robberies, 16,000 burglaries and 65,000 thefts. Of course, these figures only relate to those offenders who were caught and convicted in courts and do not include what may be thousands of more serious offences where nobody was charged or convicted.

Last year alone, people already on bail in respect of other charges accounted for one in every six crimes where there was a court conviction. It is a shocking statistic that these people were responsible for one in every five murders and 25% of people convicted of explosive or firearms offences were also on bail at the time, as were 16% of those convicted of robbery, extortion and hijacking offences. More than 1,200 burglars - again, these are just those who were caught - were out on bail when they decided to wreak havoc on other people's lives.

In total, more than 30,000 people convicted of a criminal offence in the Irish courts last year were offenders out on bail, and that was during a global pandemic, when overall crime figures were down. It is clear something must be done about easy access to bail for serial offenders who have no hesitation in leaving court and going out on the street to inflict further trauma, injury or worse on others. It is obvious the rules governing the granting of bail to repeat offenders are not protecting members of the public from suffering further harm at the hands of these people.

The Taoiseach might tell me that changes have been made since I raised the matter in 2016, with the bail laws tightened through the Criminal Justice Act 2017, but the evidence of the effectiveness of the measures suggests otherwise. The number of offenders committing crimes while on bail has increased since the beginning of the previous decade. In 2011, the numbers were fewer than 25,000 but last year, as I stated, they have increased to more than 30,000. In the year before that, the number was well over 31,000.

Will the Taoiseach undertake to further strengthen the laws governing the granting of bail to people charged with serious offences, making real changes in order to protect the law-abiding citizens of our country?

I thank Deputy Grealish for raising this matter because it is extremely important for people to have a genuine sense of security and a feeling of safety in their communities and homes. It is a priority for the Government and the Minister for Justice. We are striving to provide that safety by engaging with communities, reducing crime, tackling recidivism and supporting victims.

I am aware of recent media coverage relating to the operation of the bail system. The Deputy knows the decision to grant bail in a particular case is a matter for the presiding judge, who is independent in the exercise of his or her judicial functions. It is also important to be clear there is a constitutional presumption in favour of bail as a person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Notwithstanding that, it is open to judges, under section 2 of the Bail Act 1997, to refuse bail for a serious offence where it is reasonably considered necessary to prevent the committing of a serious offence. That provision has been strengthened several times and most recently in the Criminal Justice Act 2017, which was introduced following a review of the operation of the bail laws.

In the justice plan of 2021, the overriding imperative of the prisons policy through a penal reform action plan will be to develop policies that support reductions in the rate of reoffending, helping to reintegrate safely back into their communities those who have committed crimes.

I will discuss the matters raised by the Deputy about the numbers of offenders committing crimes while out on bail with the Minister for Justice. There are two elements in the matter. We must tackle repeat offending in general and there is also the question outlined by the Deputy regarding the operation of the bail system. The Minister for Justice and the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, are prioritising the area of reoffending and the penal reform action plan, particularly as it applies to young people and engagement with those people. A number of initiatives are on the way to try to break the cycle of reoffending, which is an important aspect to this. The joint agency response to crime initiative is a multi-agency response to the supervision and rehabilitation of prolific offenders, and there is a number of rehabilitation and reintegration-focused programmes for prisoners pre and post release from custody.

We understand certain offenders have relatively high risks of offending while on bail. Again, it is a matter for a trial judge to determine whether bail should be granted by weighing up factors in each case. The Government will take further measures to increase access to addiction treatment, education and employment opportunities. There will be increased use of community-funded organisations.

I will continue to engage with the Minister on the operation of the bail system. The constitutional matters around that and the presumption in favour of granting bail cannot be understated. Under the 2017 Act, the court is required to have regard to persistent serious offending by an applicant for bail and the nature and seriousness of any danger presented by the granting of bail to a person charged with an offence that carries a penalty of ten years of imprisonment or more.

I mentioned the inadequacy of the bail laws earlier and the impact they have on people in this country. There is another related matter to which I would like the Taoiseach to turn his attention. Not only are people getting bail and going out to reoffend but they are costing the taxpayer millions of euro at the same time. In the past five and a half years, criminal legal aid has cost the taxpayer almost €350 million, averaging more than €60 million per year and the figure is rising. There is no limit to the number of times offenders can get this free legal representation under current laws, no matter how many times they appear before the courts.

Last year alone, and again in the middle of the pandemic, more than €61 million was paid under the main criminal legal aid scheme, involving more than 73,000 cases. These criminals are laughing in the face of the justice system. They get the best legal representation in court courtesy of the Irish taxpayer, no matter how many times they offended in the past.

They seem to be able to get bail just as easily only to rob, murder and assault at will. Will the Taoiseach agree a major review of the free criminal legal aid scheme is also needed?

It is a matter of grave concern that serial reoffending, and people offending while on bail, causes immense anger to people and the community at large. That is very well put. Again, it is a matter we have to keep under review because many serious cases and issues have arisen while people were out on bail and serious crimes were committed. The general scheme of a criminal legal aid Bill is currently being prepared. The key purpose of that general scheme will be to transfer the administration of the criminal legal aid scheme to the Legal Aid Board. A number of reforms are being considered for inclusion in the scheme, including new sanctions relating to the provision of false or misleading information, introducing an improved financial assessment system for criminal legal eligibility and updating the law on criminal legal aid generally. When that legislation is approved by the Government and comes before the House, there will be an opportunity for Deputies to make their contributions and input into that. That will involve reform of the system.