Maximum bail length should be examined after Carlow shooting, says Taoiseach

Evan Fitzgerald walked through the Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow, firing a shotgun in the air before fatally shooting himself. File picture: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin

The Taoiseach has indicated that setting maximum bail length should be examined in the wake of the death of a man in a Carlow shopping centre over the weekend.

Micheál Martin said a review of bail laws is underway, but has warned that significant overhauls could be constitutionally challenging.

It comes after Evan Fitzgerald, aged 22, walked through the Fairgreen Shopping Centre in Carlow, firing a shotgun in the air before fatally shooting himself.

Gardaí had objected to bail after he was caught last year with guns and ammunition, which they said he admitted to having bought on the dark web. However, he was given bail on strict conditions and was due back in court on the charges this week.

Asked about the incident, Mr Martin agreed that the situation could have been a lot worse as "anything to do with firearms is extremely serious", but he added that "the law is as it is, and the courts took a decision on that occasion to grant bail, and that's the reality of it."

"There are issues there, and that's where the [Justice] minister has initiated a review of our bail laws to see what further reforms we could implement."

Mr Martin said: "There had been reforms in the past in respect of bail laws. These are concerning issues, but they're not simply resolved. There was constitutional reform in the past, there is the presumption of innocence.

"I think we do need to have quicker acceleration, perhaps of speed and time in terms of the conduct of prosecutions and court cases, and there are other areas perhaps where we can improve so that bail time would be shorter before someone comes to court."

The Taoiseach added: "The minister for justice has initiated a review of the bail laws in the context of the apology to the O'Farrell family in respect to the death of Shane O'Farrell. We would like to see the outcome of that review, there are constitutional limits to what can be done."