Gardaí are to get new powers to arrest suspects who breach bail conditions under the terms of a new bill to be published today.
The proposed bail legislation places new requirements on courts when considering bail applications and means judges must give reasons for releasing suspected offenders on bail.
It also allows for greater restrictions to be placed on convicted offenders who are granted bail while they appeal.
Over 10,500 serious offences were committed last year by people on bail, including six homicides, nine sexual offences and over 3,000 burglaries and robberies.
Minister for Justice Frances Fitzgerald will publish the new bill today.
It will give gardaí the power of arrest, without warrant, for a breach of bail conditions to prevent harm and intimidation of witnesses and victims.
Before granting bail the courts must also have regard to persistent serious offending, the nature and seriousness of any danger presented and should in certain cases hear evidence from the victim first in relation to threats and intimidation.
The courts must also give reasons for bail decisions and the District Court will in future be able to refuse bail in a case where an offender is to be sent to prison but is freed because of an appeal.
The bill also updates and extends the law on electronic tagging and enables a court to prohibit from driving a person charged with a serious road traffic offence.
The details of the bill are due to be announced at the graduation of 100 new gardaí later today at Templemore which will be attended by the minister, the Taoiseach and the Garda Commissioner.
However, a legal expert has said that nothing will change unless serious issues, such as prison overcrowding, are addressed.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, barrister Paul Anthony McDermott said three major issues would have to be addressed if the proposed changes were to have an effect.
He said: "At the moment, every judge knows there's nowhere in prison to put people if they are going to be refused bail.
"So if each year you now want to refuse 500 more people bail that means the prisons are going to have to find 500 convicted people and release them.
"Now I don't know about you but I would feel a lot safer if 500 people who are convicted of crime are in prison rather than 500 people who may have committed a crime but who may be innocent."
Mr McDermott said judges also needed more time to do bail hearings and that delays in the system would also have to be addressed.
He added: "The biggest problem with bail in Ireland is that judges have to do bail hearings within two or three minutes because there are so many cases on their list.
"And finally you need to deal with delays in the system because bail isn't so much of a problem if I'm charged with murder and my trial is going to start in six months - that's a short period of time to deal with.
"If I'm charged with murder and I'm not going to get a trial for three years, all of a sudden you've got a huge problem with what to do with me in those three years."
Mr McDermott said some of the procedural changes in the bill will work, in particular the provision whereby the court can now place bail conditions on someone who has appealed a period of imprisonment in the District Court.
