Mr. Eoin Carroll:

On the Garda youth diversion programmes, the sad reality, one which brings me back to budgets, is that justice is where there is money for these types of projects within the community. While I must introduce the caveat that I have not drilled down into this policy area, from conversations with academics in community studies, the programme does not make sense to them. I do not know if members are familiar with Activelink, which is a go-to website for people seeking employment in the community and voluntary sector. Garda diversion and community projects are still expanding. I wonder whether this could be done with greater partnership with community bodies or youth clubs. It does not need to be targeted at children who are getting involved in misdemeanours. We all know children benefit from youth clubs. Perhaps an analysis of this would benefit.

On the Judiciary and sentencing, we are all influenced by the media. News is constant and live, and judges cannot but be affected by this. However, it is a case of providing legislative options for judges and realising that, for many people, a community alternative is just as tough as a prison sentence. If anything, when a judge states he has sent a person to prison three, four or five times, it should become clear that prison has not worked for the offender and another option should be available, which means providing a menu of options for judges.

I once heard a TED Talk by a South African woman who discussed what is known as ridicule risk, which is our absurd fear of risk. She spoke of the importance of the concept in public services and at a broader level. Her idea was that provided our motivation is correct and we have all our ducks in a row, we should be allowed to take a risk. The community return or support programme was allowing for ridicule risk at one level. If something does not work, we should protect politicians and policymakers as long as their motivations were correct and they behaved properly. We should take more innovative risks in terms of how we respond to these issues.