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Judge warns lawyers over bail applications on Covid-19 fears

Summary

Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty, presiding over High Court bail, cautioned lawyers against filing multiple bail applications solely on the basis of a feared Covid‑19 outbreak in Irish prisons, noting no recorded cases of the virus in the system. She emphasized that bail refusals had been made on evidence‑based grounds and that fear of the pandemic could not justify overturning prior rulings. In a specific case, a man who had been refused bail in February applied again citing pandemic fears; the judge struck the application, refused costs, and warned that such a change of circumstance was insufficient. Gearty also clarified that while the public health emergency required people to stay home, the usual bail condition of signing on at Garda stations was suspended for four weeks, though other conditions like residence, curfew, and phone availability remained enforceable.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Judge warns lawyers over bail applications on Covid-19 fears. Procedural stage: charge_or_pretrial

When:

• 2020-03-31 Publication

Why: Ms Justice Gearty also commented that Ireland was currently gripped by a public health emergency and people were being asked to stay at home in order to protect everybody. CNI source report

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Charge Or Pretrial

Read the original CNI report