Mr. Brendan Ryan:

It made some proposals, but I do not have the information in front of me. It indicated that some gardaí would be removed from local policing duties to appear in court; therefore, this measure would have had a significant effect on policing in certain areas. We took this on board, but we take the view that the Garda could revisit the issue of court process management. In Dublin a presenter system is used such that instead of all gardaí attending court for initial case hearings, an inspector or sergeant will present the evidence to the court. Perhaps this system might be expanded further. We took on board the views of the Garda and other organisations. I think the Irish Prison Service was in favour of centralisation, while the Probation Service was neutral, but all other stakeholders were opposed.