Ms Deirdre Malone:

At the very opening of this session, I said that the commission of offences on bail is rightly a matter of concern to this committee, to the members' constituents and to society at large. There is absolutely no denying that at all. The Deputy's question presupposes that the solution lies in more legislation. That is where there is a significant point of difference between us. We all would love if it was as simple as introducing a new provision which made refusal of bail mandatory, which would slash the rates of crime committed on bail. However, if that was the solution, it would have been discovered and used in other jurisdictions. It has never delivered what the Deputy is asking for. The difficult reality about crime and criminality in Ireland and in every other country is that the causes are complex. The way crime happens over time is complex. The criminal justice system is complex. The interrelationship between social justice - or injustice - and the criminal justice system is complex. The solution to these things is never straightforward and there is never a silver bullet.

There are several proposals, between what Dr. Rogan said, what we have said and indeed what Ms Deane has said, encompassing examining the rights of victims within the criminal justice system in general and ensuring that they are protected; using existing legislation in respect of the imposition of conditions; and having proper consultation with victims' families where there are fears of intimidation. It is about making sure that the Garda is resourced to do the job properly. It is about ensuring there is an impact assessment of any criminal justice measure before it is implemented so we know what is likely to happen. It is about collecting data so we know the measures that are being used and not used and their efficacy.

That is a messy answer because the system is messy, crime is messy and social justice and injustice are messy. There are no silver bullets. It is going to require the committee and legislators at large to start to grapple with what penal reformers and academics have been saying for the last 25 years, which is that the roots of these problems lie in failures in services that happen in people's childhood and teenage years. We are not saying that excuses crime; we are saying the State has many opportunities to intervene and provide services for people. People are availing of services as we speak in terms of homelessness, mental health provision and addiction services. As long as we try to address the issue of offending on bail in a vacuum as if it exists without relationship to anything that happens beforehand, we are not going to solve the issue. It is clearly a significant issue. I do not think anyone on the panel would attempt to suggest that these numbers are anything but concerning. The solution does not lie in more legislation but in a whole number of other areas which are difficult but not impossible.