The bail system in Ireland is “operating in an opaque, haphazard manner” which risks eroding the rights to liberty and to a fair trial, the Irish Penal Reform Trust (IPRT) has said. The IPRT has argued that reforming current bail systems and reducing the number of people on remand in prison would help solve the prison “overcrowding crisis overnight”. It said a reliance on pre-trial detention for minor offenses is putting “unnecessary strain” on Ireland’s overcrowded prisons as it called for the establishment of an “adult bail support scheme” modeled on a youth justice scheme of intensive supervision which saw...