6.— The Act of 1997 is amended by the insertion of the following section after section 1:

“1A.— (1) A person who is charged with a serious offence and applies for bail (in this section referred to as ‘the applicant’) shall, subject to subsections (4) and (5)(c), furnish to the prosecutor a written statement duly signed by the applicant and containing the following information relating to the applicant:

(a) his or her name and any other name or names previously used;

(b) his or her current occupation and any previous occupation or occupations within the immediately preceding 3 years;

(c) his or her source or sources of income within the immediately preceding 3 years;

(d) his or her property, whether wholly or partially owned by, or under the control of, the applicant and whether within or outside the State;

(e) any previous conviction or convictions of the applicant for a serious offence;

(f) any previous conviction or convictions of the applicant for an offence or offences committed while on bail;

(g) any previous application or applications by the person for bail, indicating whether or not it was granted and, if granted, the conditions to which the recognisance was subject.

(2) The statement shall be in the prescribed form or a form to the like effect.

(3) The statement shall be furnished to the prosecutor—

(a) where written notice of the application for bail is not required, as soon as reasonably practicable before the application is made, or

(b) where such notice is required, on service of the notice.

(4) The requirement in subsection (1) to furnish a statement may be dispensed with where—

(a) the prosecutor states an intention to consent to the grant of bail, or

(b) the applicant and prosecutor consent to dispensing with the requirement.

(5) The court may by order:

(a) extend the period for production by the applicant of the statement;

(b) adjourn the hearing of the application pending production of the statement;

(c) dispense with the need to comply with subsection (1) if satisfied that there is good and sufficient reason for doing so;

(d) impose such conditions as it considers just in any order made by it under this section.

(6) The statement shall be received in evidence without further proof in proceedings under this section if it purports to be signed by the applicant.

(7) In proceedings under this section any witness may, with the leave of the court, be examined on the content of the statement.

(8) No information relating to the statement or any part of it shall be published in a written publication available to the public or be broadcast, unless the court otherwise directs.

(9) The court may, if it considers that publication of any examination of the applicant in relation to the statement or any part of it or of any submissions made to the court may prejudice the applicant’s right to a fair trial, by order direct that no information relating to the examination or submissions be published in a written publication available to the public or be broadcast.

(10) The court, when making an order under subsection (9), may specify the duration of the order and may at any time vary or set aside the order.

(11) An applicant who knowingly gives false or misleading information or conceals any material fact, either in the statement or in evidence in proceedings under this section, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €5,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both.

(12) Any information contained in the statement is not admissible in evidence in any other proceedings or matter, except in proceedings against the applicant under subsection (11).

(13) The court may consider an application for bail, notwithstanding a failure by the applicant to furnish the statement.

(14) Nothing in this section limits the jurisdiction of a court to grant bail.

(15) Subsection (2) of section 4 applies in relation to the hearing of evidence in relation to the statement and subsections (4) to (7) of that section apply in relation to a contravention of subsection (8) or (9) of this section, in each case with the necessary modifications.

(16) In this section ‘property’ means—

(a) cash, money in an account in a financial institution, cheques, bank drafts and transferable securities (including shares, warrants and debentures),

(b) land,

(c) mechanically propelled vehicles, and

(d) any other asset exceeding €3,000 in value.”.