Mr. Seán Ó hUallacháin:

I think within the resources that are there, lawyers, be they solicitors or barristers, do the best they can. There is an ongoing debate, as Deputy Connolly indicated, about how victims are dealt with. Whether it is civil legal aid or the criminal legal aid, there are deficits in provision. While budgets alone do not resolve it, one does need enhanced resources.

I certainly think there is room for significant improvement in staffing and proper victim support or resource people. Other agencies might be more familiar with this than I would be, but I certainly think there is room for significant improvement. In respect of the Bar's involvement, as Mr. Dignam outlined in our opening and as outlined in our submission, there is an acute problem building up where we find that up to 70% of those practitioners who start out in criminal law are gone by year six. That is primarily down to what Mr. Ken Murphy called borderline economic pay rates. In the future, that probably also will be reflected in criminal legal aid solicitors but there is an emerging problem there and that is not just a problem for the Bar. It is a problem for the Bar at the moment. We have young members who are desperately keen to work in that area, who have a vocational commitment to it, who have trained up for it and who would love to stay in it. It is just not economically viable, however. That is something that will rebound on not only the accused they are representing but possibly even also the victims, because the whole process will slow down, albeit perhaps not to a standstill. It may not happen tomorrow but if this trend continues, we will find we do not have adequate solicitors and certainly not adequate counsel to represent people.