Mr. Eoin Carroll:

In respect of Finland, it appears to have very different media which I am unsure we could replicate here, in that people take out annual subscriptions to newspapers. This appears to have an impact, in that people are less interested in sensationalised news although they do have a fondness for "Big Brother". On culture, it is interesting when one breaks it down a little. A considerable number of years ago, the Irish Penal Reform Trust produced a report on public attitudes towards people who were addicted to drugs or had a drug dependency. When the authors teased out with members of the public whether they would prefer to send someone with a drug dependency to prison or for their drug dependency to be tackled and an alternative offered to address the reason for their criminal behaviour, I believe approximately 75% of the public opted to address the behaviour and the reason behind the criminality. That said, this is not to advertise TheJournal.ie but in the public response to the Irish Penal Reform Trust's position paper during the week, not a single person was in support of it. That was stark. I certainly think it is an uphill effort but as Dr. McCullagh was saying, if one makes decisions and sticks to them, the tide will go back out quickly.