Ms Maura Butler:

On early intervention, as the committee is probably aware, the Child and Family Agency has recently undertaken a pilot project in Limerick. I had a conversation with a member of the board, Ms Sylda Langford, who pointed out they had seen amazing results through intervention at an early age by having a speech therapist in the school. That is analogous to what we were talking about recently .

There has also been some comprehensive research conducted through NUIG with CDI Tallaght which was sponsored by Atlantic Philanthropies. Enormous work has been done in the Tallaght area on restorative practice. For example, in schools children would ordinarily have engaged in fisticuffs if there was a dispute, but they have learned conflict resolution skills. There are a lot of data which show how early intervention can be positive. Obviously, one has to be in it for the long haul for it to work.

On communities in crisis, that is as bad as it gets for anybody in the criminal justice system. In a previous part of my career I was a criminal defence lawyer and can empathise with my colleague from the Bar on the tensions felt. I was always struck by the fact that sometimes one just had to start a conversation. Similarly to Mr. McGillicuddy being a friend to the client, sometimes clients will say one showed them respect. Respect is something a member of the committee and I accept as the norm, but in some parts of society that are damaged, where no respect is ever given, having that conversation and showing that respect can be the germ for the kind of collaboration which could ultimately lead to a community court context.