'PPS should be professionally ashamed to be part of this system': Alleged dissident boss Carl Reilly - accused of 'directing terrorism' - finally to go on trial after best part of EIGHT YEARS

Carl Reilly was charged with directing terrorism and membership of an outlawed organisation - crimes allegedly committed between January 2014 and the point when he was arrested in October 2015.

Whilst this is thought to be one of the longest waits for a terror trial in recent Northern Irish history, the Reilly case is not the only example of a paramilitary prosecution which has taken several years to conclude.

Now DUP MP Gavin Robinson says that prosecuting authorities in the Province should be "professionally ashamed" of being part of such a sluggish system.

He also noted that these delays mean suspects are usually let out on bail while awaiting trial, despite the gravity of their charges, because it is typically not feasible to hold people on remand for that long.

Carl Reilly is aged in his late 40s, and is from Pollard Close in west Belfast. Reilly has denied both charges.

Now the News Letter has learned his trial - taking place without a jury - is set to begin on May 22 (after a review hearing on April 18).

Given the length of time it has taken to bring him to trial, he has been on bail for about the last six years.

Bail conditions include:

A 9pm to 7am curfew;

Reporting to police once a week;

Restrictions on his travel, largely confining him to Belfast;

He must notify police of all the details of his mobile phone;

The number of contacts he can have and the apps he can access are limited, as is his access to the internet;

And he is banned from contacting witnesses.

His bail conditions have been relaxed further at times, for instance to allow him to go on holiday in Benidorm.

The PPS was asked why it has taken so long to get him to trial, but it declined to comment.

The Lady Chief Justice's Office, representing the judiciary, said: "This is a complex terrorist case involving expert witness evidence.

"The case has previously been listed for trial but taken out due to ongoing legal challenges."

There have been other recent paramilitary cases which have taken several years to complete.

East Tyrone man Damien McLaughlin was charged in December 2012 in relation to the murder of prison officer David Black.

He was initially charged with preparation of terrorist acts, and later with aiding and abetting murder.

Released on bail, he ran away in 2017, before being recaptured.

More on that here:

• McLaughlin bail scandal: detailed timeline of a justice fiasco

• Bail scandal: PSNI computers do not alert officers to absconders

• Listed: 15 times convicts in Northern Ireland have gone on-the-run in recent years - ranging from murderers to low-level suspects

In June 2018, he was acquitted - six-and-a-half years after first being picked up.North Belfast woman Christine Connor tried to kill two police officers with home-made explosives in May 2013.

She was arrested and charged a couple of weeks later.

But it was not until August 2020 her case eventually ended, when she was sentenced to 20 years in jail (later upped to 25) - a wait of just over seven years.

Gavin Robinson, the DUP's home affairs spokesman in the Commons, has often commented on the headaches involved in trying to bring such matters to court.

"I think the PPS, the prosecuting authorities, should be professionally ashamed that they are standing over and presiding over a system that is plagued by interminable delay," he said.

"It doesn't afford justice to victims or accused, and is a true indictment on the state of their service delivery.

"The public at large expect justice to be done - seen to done, but delivered in a timely and professional way. That's clearly not happening."