Ms Deirdre Malone:

The legislation already exists. The legislation is there to provide for electronic monitoring, for refusal of bail, and to consider the issue of flight risk. If the legislation is there already, we have to look at the whole set of other points in the system including Garda resourcing; the use of pro formaconditions; the failure, perhaps, to monitor bail conditions, or the inability to monitor them because they are being handed out on a blanket basis; and, indeed, the support that is required for victims' families as well. It is already accepted that refusal of bail is appropriate in some instances. This is more a matter of accepting the reality that the solution does not lie in further legislation because the legislation is already there to allow judges to refuse bail where appropriate. Dr. Rogan has done work on of assessing the complexity of the issue when it comes to electronic monitoring. We are aware of failures in the social system that happen years and years before people reach the criminal justice system. These are complex issues that unfortunately require a whole-of-government approach, which is difficult, and data so that we know what is happening and understand the reasons. Those are difficult things to deliver and they require resources. The answer is not a simple solution of proposing two provisions and expecting them to solve this problem, which is of clear concern to everybody.