Ms Joan Deane:

Deputy Wallace has said that the solution is very black and white. We have crime and we have punishment. I do not know what other punishment there can be for serious crime apart from prison. I would not be an advocate of the death sentence so I see prison as the only answer and that is certainly black and white. We need to study this more. The studies conducted by Dr. Rogan and her team and the work done by Ms Malone are very important. Advocacy is also important but, ultimately, we must acknowledge that we have a problem. I agree with Deputy Wallace that Deputy O'Callaghan's Bill will not do anything to address the serious issues regarding homicide and breaches of bail. We need to be looking seriously at how we apply existing legislation. Perhaps it is a Garda resource issue; I am not sure. While we are examining why things are happening in the way that they are, we must also look at the fact that they are happening and deal with that at a very practical level.